Masayuki Ozaki bounced back when the spark went out of his marriage — by starting a new romance with a rubber sex doll he swears is the love of his life.
The ultra-realistic silicone dummy, called Mayu, shares his bed under the same roof as his wife and teenage daughter in Tokyo, an unusual arrangement that triggered angry arguments before the family declared a delicate truce.
Ozaki, 45, said: “After my wife gave birth, we stopped having sex and I felt a deep sense of loneliness.”
“But the moment I saw Mayu in the showroom, it was love at first sight.”
“My wife was furious when I first brought Mayu home. These days she puts up with it, reluctantly.”
“When my daughter realized it wasn’t a giant Barbie doll, she freaked out and said it was gross — but now she’s old enough to share Mayu’s clothes.”
Ozaki, who works as a physiotherapist, takes his doll out on dates in a wheelchair and dresses her in wigs, sexy clothes and jewelry.
He admits to being turned off by human relationships, adding during a seaside stroll with his rubber companion: “Japanese women are cold-hearted.”
“They’re very selfish. Men want someone to listen to them without grumbling when they get home from work.”
“Whatever problems I have, Mayu is always there waiting for me. I love her to bits and want to be with her forever.”
“I can’t imagine going back to a human being. I want to be buried with her and take her to heaven.”
Ozaki is one of an increasing number of Japanese men turning to romantic relationships with sex dolls in a country that has officially lost its mojo.
Experts are worried by Japan‘s plummeting birth rate, which poses serious problems for the future of the economy as it faces a dwindling number of workers.
But a growing number of men — known as “herbivores” — are turning their backs on marriage and traditional masculine values for a quiet, uncompetitive life.
Every year around 2,000 of the life-like sex dolls — which cost from $6,000 and come with adjustable fingers, removable head and realistic genitals — are sold in Japan.
Hideo Tsuchiya, managing director of doll maker Orient Industry, said: “Technology has come a long way since those nasty inflatable dolls in the 1970s.”
“They look incredibly real now and it feels like you’re touching human skin. More men are buying them because they feel they can actually communicate with the dolls.”
They are popular with disabled customers and widowers, as well as mannequin fetishists, and some men use dolls to avoid heartache.
