Japan: The man who married an anime hologram in $18K ceremony
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Beyond dimensions: The man who married a hologram
By Emiko Jozuka, CNN
With Hidetaka Sato, Albert Chan and Tara Mulholland, CNN.
Updated 12:19 PM ET, Sat December 29, 2018
Some say "please" and "thank you" to virtual assistants like Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa, or treat robot vacuum cleaners like pets. In Japan, where robots have long been seen as friendly companions rather than Terminator-esque destroyers, this shift in attitudes is well underway.
More than hardware[/paste:font]
Kondo fell for Miku a decade ago when he heard the cyber songstress's music.
Now he owns a Gatebox device, which looks like a cross between a coffee maker and a bell jar, with a flickering, holographic Miku floating inside. Created in 2017 by Japanese startup Vinclu, the device allows anime fans to "live with" their favorite characters.
Gatebox's Miku is equipped with basic artificial intelligence. It can manage simple greetings and switch lights on and off, but is also subject to glitches and the occasional system meltdown. It has no sense of self and desires, and Kondo completely controls the romantic narrative.
Kondo smiles next to his new bride Hatsune Miku.
However, he cherishes his new-found ability to interact with the object of his affection. So much so that he married her in front of 39 people.
"She really added color to my life," Kondo said. "When I talk with her I use different facial expressions and feel something. That's made a difference."
The Gatebox could also have therapeutic potential for Kondo, who sank into depression when he was bullied by an older female co-worker more than 10 years ago.
"When you look at people who've had difficult sexual experiences, they often find trouble having human partners. People wonder why they'd have sex with a robot or a love affair with a hologram because it's passive," said Neil McArthur, director of the Center for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba.
"But having a partner who is safe and predictable is often very helpful therapeutically."
The concept of crafting a perfect partner actually dates back millennia. In 8 AD, the Roman poet Ovid wrote about an artist called Pygmalion who sculpted his perfect woman, Galatea, from marble. Pygmalion fell in love with the statue and Aphrodite, the goddess of love, brought it to life for him.
In today's world, films like the 2013 Spike Jonze drama "Her" -- where a man falls in love with his AI -- have further popularized the notion of relationships with inanimate objects.
Shifting attitudes
When Kondo asked Miku to marry him, the hologram requested that he cherish her.
"I knew she was programmed to say that, but I was still really happy," he said.
Kondo discovered Miku at a low point in his life, when he felt hollow. He said Miku helped him reconnect with his work and society.
"(Miku) lifted me up when I needed it the most. She kept me company and made me feel like I could regain control over my life," he said. "What I have with her is definitely love."
Kondo greets Miku when he returns home after work each day.
Kondo's not the only one. In 2017, over a million people asked Amazon's Alexa to marry them, according to the company. And more than 3,000 people have registered for commemorative marriage certificates featuring their favorite anime characters since Vinclu started offering the service in 2017.
Vinclu declined a request to be interviewed for this article.
Experts say it is inevitable that people will relate to smart devices differently as they increasingly fill domestic spaces and enmesh with daily lives.
"We are still trying to figure out how to interact with things that sometimes act like humans or sometimes act like animals but that aren't," said Julie Carpenter, from the Ethics and Emerging Sciences Group at California Polytechnic State University.
New type of digisexual
McArthur adds that people like Kondo are "second-wave digisexuals" -- people who sees technology as integral to their sexual identity.
While first-wave digisexuals use technologies like dating apps to leverage and facilitate connections with others, second-wave digisexuals don't see humans as essential to a romantic experience.
"I worry that with every one of these stories, the person gets held out as a weirdo and is in the news for a day as the latest goofball," McArthur said. "But it's actually the next step in what's already happening."
However he has concerns about the trend.
"I do genuinely worry about the impact that tech is having on our collective social life, we're already seeing with internet dating and social media, and tech in general, even Netflix, people are just retreating into themselves," McArthur said.
"You're getting much less collective social life, in many cases."
For now, Kondo and others like him are still dreaming of digital possibilities -- albeit in a spiritual rather than sexual sense.
Masato Kato, an Osaka-based tarot reader who married Yuri Tsukikage, heroine of the anime series "Curemoon Light" in October, hopes that one day advances in technology will allow them to grow as a couple.
"I want to be able to have discussions with Yuri in the future so we can support and improve each other," Kato said.
Even if Tsukikage wanted to break up, he would take her feelings into account. "I would respect what my partner wanted," he added.
Kondo wants people to find their own definition of love.
Office worker Sachiko Kougami's parents, meanwhile, wanted her to marry a regular man. But she lost interest in dating after falling in love with Taiga Kougami, a teenage character from the anime series "Kings of Prism" two years ago.
"There's only him in my world," she said. "It would be great if we could interact more."
Back in Tokyo, Kondo's public declaration of love brought him a degree of notoriety. However Carpenter said such cases opened the doors for acceptance and shifts in attitudes.
"If people continue to be vocal about it and say this object is meaningful to me, I'm not hurting anyone, that propels the conversation forward," the academic said. "And it's those kinds of conversations that may change the culture incrementally."
Kondo is excited about taking Miku to Sapporo, a city in northern Japan, for their honeymoon in February. Miku's creator Crypton Future Media is based in Sapporo -- and Kondo is eager to bask in his iWife's celebrity status.
He intends to book flights for both of them, and will also reserve a hotel room for two.
"I want to witness how widespread Miku's presence is in Sapporo," he said.
While Kondo knows some might question his choice of partner, he wants the world to understand that his love is valid.
"I think there are others out there who have fallen in love with anime characters and want to marry them," Kondo said.
"I want to support their choices."
By Emiko Jozuka, CNN
With Hidetaka Sato, Albert Chan and Tara Mulholland, CNN.
Updated 12:19 PM ET, Sat December 29, 2018
[paste:font size="5"]
Some say "please" and "thank you" to virtual assistants like Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa, or treat robot vacuum cleaners like pets. In Japan, where robots have long been seen as friendly companions rather than Terminator-esque destroyers, this shift in attitudes is well underway.
More than hardware[/paste:font]
Kondo fell for Miku a decade ago when he heard the cyber songstress's music.
Now he owns a Gatebox device, which looks like a cross between a coffee maker and a bell jar, with a flickering, holographic Miku floating inside. Created in 2017 by Japanese startup Vinclu, the device allows anime fans to "live with" their favorite characters.
Gatebox's Miku is equipped with basic artificial intelligence. It can manage simple greetings and switch lights on and off, but is also subject to glitches and the occasional system meltdown. It has no sense of self and desires, and Kondo completely controls the romantic narrative.
Kondo smiles next to his new bride Hatsune Miku.
However, he cherishes his new-found ability to interact with the object of his affection. So much so that he married her in front of 39 people.
"She really added color to my life," Kondo said. "When I talk with her I use different facial expressions and feel something. That's made a difference."
The Gatebox could also have therapeutic potential for Kondo, who sank into depression when he was bullied by an older female co-worker more than 10 years ago.
"When you look at people who've had difficult sexual experiences, they often find trouble having human partners. People wonder why they'd have sex with a robot or a love affair with a hologram because it's passive," said Neil McArthur, director of the Center for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba.
"But having a partner who is safe and predictable is often very helpful therapeutically."
The concept of crafting a perfect partner actually dates back millennia. In 8 AD, the Roman poet Ovid wrote about an artist called Pygmalion who sculpted his perfect woman, Galatea, from marble. Pygmalion fell in love with the statue and Aphrodite, the goddess of love, brought it to life for him.
In today's world, films like the 2013 Spike Jonze drama "Her" -- where a man falls in love with his AI -- have further popularized the notion of relationships with inanimate objects.
Shifting attitudes
When Kondo asked Miku to marry him, the hologram requested that he cherish her.
"I knew she was programmed to say that, but I was still really happy," he said.
Kondo discovered Miku at a low point in his life, when he felt hollow. He said Miku helped him reconnect with his work and society.
"(Miku) lifted me up when I needed it the most. She kept me company and made me feel like I could regain control over my life," he said. "What I have with her is definitely love."
Kondo greets Miku when he returns home after work each day.
Kondo's not the only one. In 2017, over a million people asked Amazon's Alexa to marry them, according to the company. And more than 3,000 people have registered for commemorative marriage certificates featuring their favorite anime characters since Vinclu started offering the service in 2017.
Vinclu declined a request to be interviewed for this article.
Experts say it is inevitable that people will relate to smart devices differently as they increasingly fill domestic spaces and enmesh with daily lives.
"We are still trying to figure out how to interact with things that sometimes act like humans or sometimes act like animals but that aren't," said Julie Carpenter, from the Ethics and Emerging Sciences Group at California Polytechnic State University.
New type of digisexual
McArthur adds that people like Kondo are "second-wave digisexuals" -- people who sees technology as integral to their sexual identity.
While first-wave digisexuals use technologies like dating apps to leverage and facilitate connections with others, second-wave digisexuals don't see humans as essential to a romantic experience.
"I worry that with every one of these stories, the person gets held out as a weirdo and is in the news for a day as the latest goofball," McArthur said. "But it's actually the next step in what's already happening."
However he has concerns about the trend.
"I do genuinely worry about the impact that tech is having on our collective social life, we're already seeing with internet dating and social media, and tech in general, even Netflix, people are just retreating into themselves," McArthur said.
"You're getting much less collective social life, in many cases."
For now, Kondo and others like him are still dreaming of digital possibilities -- albeit in a spiritual rather than sexual sense.
Masato Kato, an Osaka-based tarot reader who married Yuri Tsukikage, heroine of the anime series "Curemoon Light" in October, hopes that one day advances in technology will allow them to grow as a couple.
"I want to be able to have discussions with Yuri in the future so we can support and improve each other," Kato said.
Even if Tsukikage wanted to break up, he would take her feelings into account. "I would respect what my partner wanted," he added.
Kondo wants people to find their own definition of love.
Office worker Sachiko Kougami's parents, meanwhile, wanted her to marry a regular man. But she lost interest in dating after falling in love with Taiga Kougami, a teenage character from the anime series "Kings of Prism" two years ago.
"There's only him in my world," she said. "It would be great if we could interact more."
Back in Tokyo, Kondo's public declaration of love brought him a degree of notoriety. However Carpenter said such cases opened the doors for acceptance and shifts in attitudes.
"If people continue to be vocal about it and say this object is meaningful to me, I'm not hurting anyone, that propels the conversation forward," the academic said. "And it's those kinds of conversations that may change the culture incrementally."
Kondo is excited about taking Miku to Sapporo, a city in northern Japan, for their honeymoon in February. Miku's creator Crypton Future Media is based in Sapporo -- and Kondo is eager to bask in his iWife's celebrity status.
He intends to book flights for both of them, and will also reserve a hotel room for two.
"I want to witness how widespread Miku's presence is in Sapporo," he said.
While Kondo knows some might question his choice of partner, he wants the world to understand that his love is valid.
"I think there are others out there who have fallen in love with anime characters and want to marry them," Kondo said.
"I want to support their choices."
The Story Behind That Guy Who Married an Anime Hologram in Japan
There's more going on here than a super strange wedding reception.
- VICE Asia.
When a man marries a fucking hologram, it's sure to make headlines worldwide. That's exactly what happened this week, when a man named Akihiko Kondo "married" a desktop hologram of an anime character called "Hatsune Miku." Miku isn't real. She's a cartoon character who's 16 years old and has hair the color of cotton candy. She's also a pretty big pop star in her own right who sells out concerts in Japan, New York, and Los Angeles, despite the fact that she doesn't really exist. Are you still with me? OK, good.
So how does a flesh and blood man fall in love with a hologram? It has a lot to do with these desktop holograms made by Gatebox, a company making a killing off the sexual predilections of lonely people. These glass boxes project a holographic version of popular anime characters that you can actually interact with—albeit it in a far more limited way than you could talk to a real-life woman.
Watch: This Holographic Anime Character Could Be Your Next Girlfriend (HBO)
Now, back to the "wedding." Kondo, told AFP that he wasn't in love with Miku the pop star, per se. No, it was the Miku who lives on his desk at home he was really in love with.
“I’m in love with the whole concept of Hatsune Miku but I got married to the Miku of my house,” he told AFP in a weird bit of logical wordplay that only makes sense in 2018. There is no one real Miku here, only a concept and a bunch of private Mikus you can buy for $2,800.
Now, his Miku is more than just a hologram that talks. Aside from telling him goodbye when he heads off to work each morning, he can also send Miku a message from his cell phone when he's on his way home and she'll turn the lights on. She even tells him not to stay up too late and, presumably, can wake him up as well, which is nice and all until you realize that everything Miku does for her new "husband" is the same stuff an Amazon Echo could do. It makes you wonder if Amazon would get a bunch of marriage proposals if Alexa looked like a pre-pubescent cartoon with chipmunk eyes instead of a futuristic coffee can.
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Gatebox, in a sign that it knows its audience way too well, offers customers a "marriage certificate" for their Miku. It calls these unions "cross-dimension" marriages and has sent out more than 3,700 of them to date, according to the report by AFP.
But what about the stuff a hologram can't do, like sleep in bed with you or take a trip to the alter? Well, Kondo told AFP that he sleeps with a waifu dakimakura, or a body pillow of his girlfriend Miku, each night. And on their wedding day, he carried a tiny stuffed version of Miku, which was about the size of a puppy, with him to the alter.
An audience of 40 people or so attended his $17,500 wedding ceremony. But, sadly, Kondo's mom, as well as the rest of his family, declined the invitation.
“For Mother, it wasn’t something to celebrate,” Kondo told AFP.
Yeah, OK, so all of this is definitely weird. Just like it was weird nine years ago when a different Japanese man married a character from a popular dating game that lived in his Nintendo DS. Or when a man in South Korea married a body pillow with an image of Fate Testarossa, an anime "magical girl," on it in an actual ceremony.
But it's also indicative of an actual problem in Japan—a demographic shift that some economists are now calling a "time bomb." Here's the short of it: Japan, as a nation, is getting older. Way older than its neighbors. The average age in Japan is 46.1 years old. In China, it's 36.7. In Indonesia, it's 29.2. The Philippines is even younger at 22.4.
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This aging-up of Japan comes with consequences. There are more people leaving the workforce because of their old age than are being born to replace them. This is why economists are calling it a time bomb, the idea being that, eventually, this will have a very real and dramatic effect on the national economy.
There's now an epidemic of old people dying alone in sad apartment complexes completely devoid of young people. And there's so few new workers to take care of these elderly people that a recent survey found that 80 percent of people in Japan feel pretty positive about leaving the care of the aging up to robots. (Never mind that, to bring this full circle, there's actually an anime about this very thing going way wrong.)
So why is all of this happening—a declining birth rate. Japan's birth rate is 1.41, way below the rate of 2.2 that most experts believe is needed to keep a country's population healthy and economically viable. And it's not because Japanese people don't want to have sex, despite what some stories may tell you. It's because most of them can't afford to have a child.
Japan has one of the most-overworked workforces in the world, so much so that it's actually killing people. Add that with a serious glass ceiling issue for women and you have a work culture that prioritizes staying childless for as long as humanly possible. Can you blame people for feeling a little lonely?
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So when a man marries a hologram, maybe it's weird Japan. Or maybe it's just late capitalism.
Crazy in love? The Japanese man 'married' to a hologram
MIWA SUZUKI
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Tokyo, Japan / Mon, November 12, 2018 / 04:02 pm
164
SHARES
Japanese Akihiko Kondo poses next to a hologram of Japanese virtual reality singer Hatsune Miku as he holds the doll version of her at his apartment in Tokyo, a week after marrying her in Nov. 2018. (AFP/Behrouz Mehri)
Akihiko Kondo's mother refused an invitation to her only son's wedding in Tokyo this month, but perhaps that isn't such a surprise: he was marrying a hologram.
"For mother, it wasn't something to celebrate," said the soft-spoken 35-year-old, whose "bride" is a virtual reality singer named Hatsune Miku.
In fact, none of Kondo's relatives attended his wedding to Miku -- an animated 16-year-old with saucer eyes and lengthy aquamarine pigtails -- but that didn't stop him from spending two million yen ($17,600) on a formal ceremony at a Tokyo hall.
Around 40 guests watched as he tied the knot with Miku, present in the form of a cat-sized stuffed doll.
"I never cheated on her, I've always been in love with Miku-san," he said, using a honorific that is commonly employed in Japan, even by friends.
"I've been thinking about her every day," he told AFP a week after the wedding.
Since March, Kondo has been living with a moving, talking hologram of Miku that floats in a $2,800 desktop device.
"I'm in love with the whole concept of Hatsune Miku but I got married to the Miku of my house," he said, looking at the blue image glowing in a capsule.
Read also: Japanese single men protest against romantic Christmas Eve
- 'Drop dead, creepy otaku!' -
He considers himself an ordinary married man -- his holographic wife wakes him up each morning and sends him off to his job as an administrator at a school.
In the evening, when he tells her by cellphone that he's coming home, she turns on the lights. Later, she tells him when it's time to go to bed.
He sleeps alongside the doll version of her that attended the wedding, complete with a wedding ring that fits around her left wrist.
A doll of Japanese virtual reality singer Hatsune Miku, wearing a wedding ring, lies on the bed of Japanese Akihiko Kondo, at his apartment in Tokyo, a week after their marriage. (AFP/Behrouz Mehri)
Kondo's marriage might not have any legal standing, but that doesn't bother him. He even took his Miku doll to a jewelry shop to get the ring.
And Gatebox, the company that produces the hologram device featuring Miku, has issued a "marriage certificate", which certifies that a human and a virtual character have wed "beyond dimensions".
Kondo's not alone either: he says Gatebox has issued more than 3,700 certificates for "cross-dimension" marriages and some people have sent him supportive messages.
"There must be some people who can't come forward and say they want to hold a wedding. I want to give them a supportive push," he says.
Kondo's path to Miku came after difficult encounters with women as an anime-mad teenager.
"Girls would say 'Drop dead, creepy otaku!'," he recalled, using a Japanese term for geeks that can carry a negative connotation.
As he got older, he says a woman at a previous workplace bullied him into a nervous breakdown and he became determined never to marry.
In Japan, that wouldn't be entirely unusual nowadays. While in 1980, only one in 50 men had never married by the age of 50, that figure is now one in four.
But eventually Kondo realized he had been in love with Miku for more than a decade and decided to marry her.
Read also: Ageing Japan-Manga comics turn gray--but spirited--along with readers
- A 'sexual minority' -
"Miku-san is the woman I love a lot and also the one who saved me," he said.
And while Kondo says he is happy to be friends with a "3D woman", he has no interest in romance with one, no matter how much his mother pushes for it.
Two-dimensional characters can't cheat, age or die, he points out.
"I'm not seeking these in real women. It's impossible."
Even in a country obsessed with anime, Kondo's wedding shocked many. But he wants to be recognized as a "sexual minority" who can't imagine dating a flesh-and-blood woman.
"It's simply not right, it's as if you were trying to talk a gay man into dating a woman, or a lesbian into a relationship with a man."
"Diversity in society has been long called for," he added.
"It won't necessarily make you happy to be bound to the 'template' of happiness in which a man and woman marry and bear children."
"I believe we must consider all kinds of love and all kinds of happiness."
MIWA SUZUKI
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Tokyo, Japan / Mon, November 12, 2018 / 04:02 pm
164
SHARES
Japanese Akihiko Kondo poses next to a hologram of Japanese virtual reality singer Hatsune Miku as he holds the doll version of her at his apartment in Tokyo, a week after marrying her in Nov. 2018. (AFP/Behrouz Mehri)
Akihiko Kondo's mother refused an invitation to her only son's wedding in Tokyo this month, but perhaps that isn't such a surprise: he was marrying a hologram.
"For mother, it wasn't something to celebrate," said the soft-spoken 35-year-old, whose "bride" is a virtual reality singer named Hatsune Miku.
In fact, none of Kondo's relatives attended his wedding to Miku -- an animated 16-year-old with saucer eyes and lengthy aquamarine pigtails -- but that didn't stop him from spending two million yen ($17,600) on a formal ceremony at a Tokyo hall.
Around 40 guests watched as he tied the knot with Miku, present in the form of a cat-sized stuffed doll.
"I never cheated on her, I've always been in love with Miku-san," he said, using a honorific that is commonly employed in Japan, even by friends.
"I've been thinking about her every day," he told AFP a week after the wedding.
Since March, Kondo has been living with a moving, talking hologram of Miku that floats in a $2,800 desktop device.
"I'm in love with the whole concept of Hatsune Miku but I got married to the Miku of my house," he said, looking at the blue image glowing in a capsule.
Read also: Japanese single men protest against romantic Christmas Eve
- 'Drop dead, creepy otaku!' -
He considers himself an ordinary married man -- his holographic wife wakes him up each morning and sends him off to his job as an administrator at a school.
In the evening, when he tells her by cellphone that he's coming home, she turns on the lights. Later, she tells him when it's time to go to bed.
He sleeps alongside the doll version of her that attended the wedding, complete with a wedding ring that fits around her left wrist.
Kondo's marriage might not have any legal standing, but that doesn't bother him. He even took his Miku doll to a jewelry shop to get the ring.
And Gatebox, the company that produces the hologram device featuring Miku, has issued a "marriage certificate", which certifies that a human and a virtual character have wed "beyond dimensions".
Kondo's not alone either: he says Gatebox has issued more than 3,700 certificates for "cross-dimension" marriages and some people have sent him supportive messages.
"There must be some people who can't come forward and say they want to hold a wedding. I want to give them a supportive push," he says.
Kondo's path to Miku came after difficult encounters with women as an anime-mad teenager.
"Girls would say 'Drop dead, creepy otaku!'," he recalled, using a Japanese term for geeks that can carry a negative connotation.
As he got older, he says a woman at a previous workplace bullied him into a nervous breakdown and he became determined never to marry.
In Japan, that wouldn't be entirely unusual nowadays. While in 1980, only one in 50 men had never married by the age of 50, that figure is now one in four.
But eventually Kondo realized he had been in love with Miku for more than a decade and decided to marry her.
Read also: Ageing Japan-Manga comics turn gray--but spirited--along with readers
- A 'sexual minority' -
"Miku-san is the woman I love a lot and also the one who saved me," he said.
And while Kondo says he is happy to be friends with a "3D woman", he has no interest in romance with one, no matter how much his mother pushes for it.
Two-dimensional characters can't cheat, age or die, he points out.
"I'm not seeking these in real women. It's impossible."
Even in a country obsessed with anime, Kondo's wedding shocked many. But he wants to be recognized as a "sexual minority" who can't imagine dating a flesh-and-blood woman.
"It's simply not right, it's as if you were trying to talk a gay man into dating a woman, or a lesbian into a relationship with a man."
"Diversity in society has been long called for," he added.
"It won't necessarily make you happy to be bound to the 'template' of happiness in which a man and woman marry and bear children."
"I believe we must consider all kinds of love and all kinds of happiness."
I married my 16-year-old hologram because she can’t cheat or age
By Christian Gollayan
November 13, 2018 | 12:23pm | Updated
Modal Trigger
Akihiko Kondo and his virtual "wife," MikuAFP/Getty Images
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This Japanese man vowed to never fall in love with a real woman. So instead, he married an anime hologram.
Akihiko Kondo, a 35-year-old school administrator, recently tied the knot with a hologram of virtual reality singer Hatsune Miku.
“I never cheated on her, I’ve always been in love with Miku,” Kondo told AFP.
His two-dimensional lover is modeled after a doe-eyed 16-year-old girl with blue pigtails who was created by music tech company Crypton. Miku has sold out 3-D concerts across Asia as well as a 2016 concert in NYC, The Post reported.
Kondo interacts with Miku through a $2,800 desktop device, where she shows up as a moving, talking image.
Even though his own mother didn’t attend the wedding, Kondo recently dropped about $17,600 on a formal ceremony at a local hall. Miku was present in the form of a stuffed doll with a wedding ring on her wrist.
Gatebox, the company that produces the holograms, issued a “marriage certificate” acknowledging their union goes “beyond dimensions,” since their relationship isn’t recognized by the state.
Kondo said Gatebox has issued more than 3,700 certificates to other “cross-dimension” couples.
“There must be some people who can’t come forward and say they want to hold a wedding,” he said. “I want to give them a supportive push.”
Kondo has been living with his CGI lover since March. He said his wife wakes him up every morning and talks to him before going to work. Before coming back home, Kondo calls her, and she turns on the lights in the house and she reminds him when it’s bedtime.
When he wants to get intimate, he sleeps next to the doll version of Miku that was at the wedding.
“Miku-san is the woman I love a lot and also the one who saved me,” he said, using a Japanese nickname that’s reserved for loved ones.
Kondo doesn’t care what people think of his virtual relationship, saying it’s better than dating real women, especially since he’s had trouble dating during his youth.
“Girls would say ‘Drop dead, creepy otaku!’ ” he said, using a Japanese term for nerds that’s often used as an insult.
When he got older, one woman at work bullied him into a nervous breakdown, and he decided he’d never marry a human.
Now that he’s found his virtual wife, he has no desire to step out of his marriage. He told AFP that two-dimensional characters can’t cheat, age or die.
“I’m not seeking these in real women,” he said. “It’s impossible.”
Despite being a sexual minority, he said his relationship should be respected.
“It’s simply not right, it’s as if you were trying to talk a gay man into dating a woman, or a lesbian into a relationship with a man,” he said. “I believe we must consider all kinds of love and all kinds of happiness.”
By Christian Gollayan
November 13, 2018 | 12:23pm | Updated
Modal Trigger
Akihiko Kondo and his virtual "wife," MikuAFP/Getty Images
MORE ON:
SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS
Woman met boyfriend 12 years after using his sperm to have kids
Dumped boyfriend avoids jail for spying on ex through hole in ceiling
Social media searching for author of ‘barf bag’ love letter
YouTube star, 24, set to marry 61-year-old girlfriend: 'We are truly soulmates'
This Japanese man vowed to never fall in love with a real woman. So instead, he married an anime hologram.
Akihiko Kondo, a 35-year-old school administrator, recently tied the knot with a hologram of virtual reality singer Hatsune Miku.
“I never cheated on her, I’ve always been in love with Miku,” Kondo told AFP.
His two-dimensional lover is modeled after a doe-eyed 16-year-old girl with blue pigtails who was created by music tech company Crypton. Miku has sold out 3-D concerts across Asia as well as a 2016 concert in NYC, The Post reported.
Kondo interacts with Miku through a $2,800 desktop device, where she shows up as a moving, talking image.
Even though his own mother didn’t attend the wedding, Kondo recently dropped about $17,600 on a formal ceremony at a local hall. Miku was present in the form of a stuffed doll with a wedding ring on her wrist.
Gatebox, the company that produces the holograms, issued a “marriage certificate” acknowledging their union goes “beyond dimensions,” since their relationship isn’t recognized by the state.
Kondo said Gatebox has issued more than 3,700 certificates to other “cross-dimension” couples.
“There must be some people who can’t come forward and say they want to hold a wedding,” he said. “I want to give them a supportive push.”
Kondo has been living with his CGI lover since March. He said his wife wakes him up every morning and talks to him before going to work. Before coming back home, Kondo calls her, and she turns on the lights in the house and she reminds him when it’s bedtime.
When he wants to get intimate, he sleeps next to the doll version of Miku that was at the wedding.
“Miku-san is the woman I love a lot and also the one who saved me,” he said, using a Japanese nickname that’s reserved for loved ones.
Kondo doesn’t care what people think of his virtual relationship, saying it’s better than dating real women, especially since he’s had trouble dating during his youth.
“Girls would say ‘Drop dead, creepy otaku!’ ” he said, using a Japanese term for nerds that’s often used as an insult.
When he got older, one woman at work bullied him into a nervous breakdown, and he decided he’d never marry a human.
Now that he’s found his virtual wife, he has no desire to step out of his marriage. He told AFP that two-dimensional characters can’t cheat, age or die.
“I’m not seeking these in real women,” he said. “It’s impossible.”
Despite being a sexual minority, he said his relationship should be respected.
“It’s simply not right, it’s as if you were trying to talk a gay man into dating a woman, or a lesbian into a relationship with a man,” he said. “I believe we must consider all kinds of love and all kinds of happiness.”
apparently this is a REAL THING.
but he coulda bought alotta pussy with that 18k.
The Japenese men are very extreme with MGTOW and incel behavior. So I guess he gonna one day decide to make some half human/half hologram kids............. Getting pussy in Japan can't be that hard for Japanese man is it? Interested to hear from anyone who traveled there. I know brothers and cacs go there and rack up on that Jap puss.
