¡°Just the other day I had a date with a woman. We were planning on seeing a movie but it was such a beautiful day that I said, ¡®We can see a movie anytime, let¡¯s watch the sunset instead.¡¯ She was furious: ¡®Why didn¡¯t you say so in the first place?¡¯¡±

She stalked off to see the movie alone, leaving him to stroll off into the sunset alone, more convinced than ever that alone is how he was meant to be. ¡°As of now,¡± he tells Josei Seven magazine, ¡°there is no one who I¡¯d want to marry.¡± He¡¯s 41.

Another story from Josei Seven: ¡°I¡¯m a good cook. I¡¯d make a perfect bride, if I do say so myself.¡± She¡¯s 43. Seven years ago she broke up with the man she¡¯d planned to marry, and has been alone since, caring for her mother, whose infirmity following a stroke is the main crimp on her social life. Another is her workplace, a culture center where ¡°the only people I see are housewives. I¡¯m thinking of having my eggs frozen.¡±