College Times

Issue date: 6/18/09 Section: Blogs

Watch out Japan, you might be in trouble. Herbivores are taking over your country!

Yes, you heard me. Grass-eating men are going to destroy your country.

Media Shakers (a consulting company) estimates that 60 percent of Japanese men in their early 20s and at least 42 percent of men between the ages 23 to 34 consider themselves herbivores.

Yikes!! Good thing I don't live in Japan.

Just kidding.

Okay, so enough of the fuss. What the hell is an herbivore? Sounds pretty harmless. Well, according to author and columnist Maki Fukasawa, who coined the term, they are the younger generation of Japanese men who are not interested in sex or money and prefer a more "quiet" lifestyle.

In other words, "In Japan, sex is translated as 'relationship in flesh,'" Fukasawa said to CNN.com, "so I named those boys 'herbivorous boys' since they are not interested in flesh."

So, I guess eating a little meat every now and again keeps your manly-hood in check.

And, according to a Japanese man from the older generation, "You need to be carnivorous when you make decisions in your life. You should be proactive, not passive."

But all kidding aside, some Japanese people are worried. From the business point of view, who's going to go out and purchase new things when the herbivores don't have any money and/or desire to go shopping?

And what about the women? Slate.com states that some Japanese girls are taking matters into their own hands and have started to pursue men more aggressively. And just in case you were wondering, these carnivorous girls have a term of their own. They are the "hunters."

Okay, so maybe this isn't as big of a deal as the media is making it out to be. I'm pretty sure that most businesses will continue to survive and I'm not too concerned if women have to work a little bit harder to score a date. So Japan, I take it all back. I think your country is going survive just fine with your newly discovered inhabitants. Good luck.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools