Terry Ito Column Vol. 83 The Man Who Found Happiness Through Arranged Marriage, Part 2 (157th time)

In my previous column, I introduced my friend, broadcast writer Nishikawa-chan (63 years old), who divorced his wife five years ago. Feeling lonely, he paid a 253,000 yen membership fee to join a marriage agency three years ago. He pays a monthly fee of 12,100 yen and has gone on a total of 157 blind dates before finally winning over a woman a full decade younger than him and being on the verge of marriage. I would like to share some of his crazy blind date experiences that I couldn't cover in the last issue.

◆At the arranged marriage meeting, she confessed, "I recently separated from my husband for reasons I won't go into," and at the age of 55, "I want to become a foster parent and take in orphaned children." For the next 30 minutes, she kept pleading, "Please be their father."

◆I went on a blind date with a woman who works in the emergency room of a hospital. The conversation wasn't going well at all, so I asked, "Have you ever seen any unusual people brought to the emergency room by ambulance?" She told me about a young woman who, in the ambulance, was swinging a stick around and repeatedly saying, "I can't transform, I can't transform, please help me." It was an interesting story, and I thought, "I'm glad I met her."

Another formidable woman has appeared. Intriguing. I'd like to meet her, not just hear about her. By the way, I've introduced some surprising women that men have met through arranged marriages, but there are actually a lot of other terrible men as well. I interviewed Mariko Kuroyanagi (59, single), a marriage advisor known as the "Queen of Successful Marriages."

◆When I went to his house for a trial date, I found out that despite his profile stating "no family living with him," he had a large family with a divorced daughter and five grandchildren, so I ended up breaking things off that same day.

◆We had a shared love for cats, so we started dating. I went to his house expecting to see what kind of cute cats he had, but there were over 30 of them, and the house was a cat den covered in feces.

◆His profile said, "I have assets, so I won't let you suffer," but as soon as we got married, he said, "You have to earn all your own living expenses."

◆When I dated a man whose previous wife had passed away, he broke down in tears while we were eating out, saying, "This restaurant holds many memories for me; I used to come here often with my deceased wife," which made me lose my appetite.

◆We went to a fancy restaurant with a beautiful night view, and I was expecting him to propose, but then he said, "The person in charge at the marriage agency urged me to propose soon, so I did," and I was instantly turned off.

There are also complaints from the women, among other things. There are all sorts of challenges in finding a marriage partner as you get older. That being said, there are happy endings like Nishikawa-chan's on her 157th try, so I hope they keep trying. By the way, will Nishikawa-chan's July wedding plans actually come true? I'm holding my breath and looking forward to finding out.

Terry Ito (director)

Born in Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1949. After attending Waseda Jitsugyo Junior and Senior High School, he graduated from Nihon University's School of Economics.
In March 2023, he completed the Master's program at the Graduate School of Media and Governance at Keio University.
He joined the television production company IVS Television, where he worked on variety shows such as "Tensai Takeshi's Genki ga Deru TV" and "Neruton Benikujidan."
He then went independent and worked on planning and directing a number of television programs, including TV Tokyo's "Asakusabashi Young Clothing Store."
His book "Comedy North Korea" became a bestseller, and he subsequently made numerous media appearances under the name Terry Ito.
In addition to his work as a director, he is also active in a variety of fields as a producer, entertainer, and commentator.
YouTube channelTerry Ito's Comedy Backdrop'
Currently writing a column in LALALA USA
https://lalalausa.com/archives/category/column/terry