Do you want to "breed" boys in a pasture? In Japan, you can. But not in the real world, of course.
Cyber Agent, a major dot-com company in Japan, has opened a mobile website titled "Otokonoko Bokujo (Boys Pasture)". It's a kind of SNS and enables women to communicate each other. Here's a screen shot of "Profile" page:
So, why is it called "Boys Pasture"? Well, members (women) can upload information and photos of their male acquaintances (their permission is required, but not verified), and share them with other members. "Boys" are displayed as horses, oxen, and sheep in a pasture:
The purpose of the website, Cyber Agent says in its press release, is to share the information of "boys" and help the members to find a boyfriend, hopefully a fiance.
In Japan, marriage rate has been declining for some reasons, and young men and women who want to get married are struggling for Mr./Ms. Right. Their activity of finding a fiance/fiancee is called "Konkatsu (fiance-hunting)", which is named after job-hunting. Now, marrying is as hard as finding a work. Cyber Agent claims "Boys Pasture" will be a great tool for Konkatsu.
Does it creep you out? Yes, many Japanese people feel so, and raise a hue and cry against the website. Facing criticism, Cyber Agent declared in its official blog that it is planning to change the name and start deleting boys information without their permission. But some netizens are still angry, and joking around the website by creating a website titled "Girls Pasture".
People could allow its name "Boys Pasture" by considering it as a joke, but not Cyber Agent's downplaying privacy. The service will be forced to close, if it does not take some substantial measures to block personal information without permission.
