Japanese bachelors learn the art of parenting to help find wives

The course teaches men how to bathe and dress a baby, helps them understand a woman's perspective on child-rearing

TOKYO: Japanese bachelors looking for love can now learn child-rearing skills to boost their chances of finding a partner.

The new, all-male 'ikumen' course teaches men how to bathe and dress a baby and also helps them understand a woman's perspective on child-rearing, says Ikumen University, the Osaka-based company behind the course.

Participants take part in an "Ikumen" course, or child-rearing course for men, organised by Osaka-based company Ikumen University, in Tokyo, Japan September 18, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

Participants in one session on Sunday in the Japanese capital wore a 7-kg (15-pound) pregnancy jacket, were taught how to improve communication with a potential spouse and filled out a worksheet stating traits women were deemed to dislike in men.



Participants try to wear 7-kilogram pregnancy jackets as they take part in an "Ikumen" course, or child-rearing course for men, organised by Osaka-based company Ikumen University, in Tokyo, Japan September 18, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

"I wanted to create a form of certification proving a man's child-rearing skills and support for married life," course instructor Takeshi Akiyama told Reuters.

"Matchmaking agencies can advertise such men as having 'extra value,' by letting potential partners know he will support the marriage."