What ‘shocked’ our researcher was when he delved into the inner layers.  The Japanese men’s underwear choices were perceived by him to be very feminine by US standards, though he has not seen what some men are wearing in America.  Now let us be clear – American fashion might set global trends in fashion in a lot of ways but it does not mean that the world dresses like America.  For example, while America has pretty much given up on formal dress at work that is not the case in many other countries of the world.  However, American casual wear at work has been embraced for, well, casual wear.  Similarly, women in many parts of the world would die rather than be seen in track suits or T shirts or without makeup in public.  So no wonder that uninspiring boxer shorts are not what the rest of the world wears inside their slacks. (Related:  Underwear for men)

Japanese young men typically prefer briefs and thongs rather than boxers.  While boxers are not unknown, that is not what they wear when they are dressing up.  A boxer is what you wear in bed, as one Japanese man in his 20s tells MYNIPPON.

The look that is now being referred to in America as ‘metrosexual’ is nothing but a polished version of standard Japanese style for men.  It is true that some Japanese men have been known to shave hair on many parts of their bodies other than the face, many ‘idols’ routinely apply lipstick and put makeup on when they appear in public, and do not necessarily feel shy about wearing what Americans might call as cute underwear.  So the macho image of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise that American media and fashion houses project for men does not fly with Japanese men.  Thus, almost all underwear in Japan, for both men and women, is locally designed and produced, except for a some minor imports from Europe, which is much closer to Japan in fashion and style anyway.

And there is no scarcity of women who love such effeminate men.  A clean-shaven face with not a trace of hair, good (even long) hair, feminine appearance, and a trace of makeup in the right body parts is all you need to develop a following among mostly European girls, who like to refer to them as ‘boi’.  As an English girl who likes no one but these Japanese metrosexual men tells us, “I only find Japanese men attractive now.  Western men really don’t do anything for me anymore.  And it’s the feminine guys I find the most attractive – the type that you see around Tokyo working in convenience stores to earn enough money to be in their visual kei bands where you see them dressed in girlie clothes and men's makeup.”