Nothing to do with technology, but I got to write about what I encountered today.

I was walking down to my favorite sandwich shop for lunch and saw this guy crossing the street wearing a black T-shirt that says “I am looking for a Japanese girlfriend” in Japanese and in huge font.

Bold, to say the least. I was stunned.

Sometime you see T-shirts with funny but a bit off or wrong foreign words which I am sure the people who wear them have no idea what they actually mean. But this one, it is right-on and obviously intentional.

First I though it was a custom-made for the purpose, but decided to google it just to make sure. Boy, I was wrong. Apparently, that’s a rather popular product.

There is no way Japanese girls would line up before you wearing this shirt. However, it is a very clever way to screen Japanese out in this Asian heavy city of San Francisco. They will certainly look at you, good or bad. Then you have a choice either to strike up a conversation or to walk away if the girl isn’t your type. Nothing to lose, I guess. Oh, except that you might look too light.

Nonetheless, this is one of the most targeted, direct and perhaps effective ads I’ve ever seen.

Anime, manga, wii, Toyota … a number of Japanese things exist that are quite popular globally, but Japanese girls could still be the most popular thing of all made in Japan.

Me, apparently, wasn’t up to the standard. He just walked by.

Yuki