Yes, it is true. There is a new trend for Japanese men to wear bras. They are made from plastic, to be worn at work under the dress shirt, and meant for comfort.

I just learned about this unusual fad this morning as one of my students asked me whether this would be a hoax or a believable story. Based on my three years of living in Japan, I immediately found this amusing, in some ways sooo Japanese and not surprising anymore. Nevertheless, I needed to double-check it first and found more information about this on Shine.

The Japanese are in some ways very unconventional. They can hold a wedding in Shinto tradition, then in a Hindu ceremony and last the Christian way, including white wedding dress, all on one day.

They sell cold spaghetti with tomato sauce on a bread roll. At first it might not look tasty, but then – don’t some of us enjoy pasta with bread on the side? The Japanese are unrestricted when it comes to concocting plain items in new fashions.

Some men like to have their thirty-something wives wear Snoopy socks and braid their hair to satisfy their Roricon (derived from Lolita Complex), more on wiki here. At first I used to laugh about this seemingly childish way of dressing up in public. Then it dawned on me that some Japanese actually had fewer inhibitions compared to us Westerners. What some might reserve for the bedroom, some Japanese show in public.

So when Cosplay (derived from Costume Play) became popular as a way of dressing up, I figured it was just a continuation of the Roricon. Even then, some enjoyable fads do get old after a while and there is always a new generation of young Japanese minds. So now we have arrived at the stage where some men like to wear bras to work. I hope it makes them cut better deals without having to snap their bra strap. But then again, this won’t be the end of setting new fashion trends either.

So, my message is: Embrace life the Japanese way. This way your life may never get dull nor predictable.

Why take the straight tour in life? Just follow these signs.