By Sun Xiuping in Tokyo and Bai Yang in Beijing

In an attempt to lampoon the supposed feminization of men in Japan, Nippon Television broadcast a scene of a man in his home eating potato chips with chopsticks, for fear of getting his hands greasy, while reading a magazine and turning the pages in an effeminate way. Japanese men are said to be increasingly becoming “herbivore men.”

Japanese men's feminization extends beyond wearing tights and make-up.

According to the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, last year Japanese underwear shop Wishroom produced its first bra for men, which unexpectedly sold out, with all 160 garments snapped up by men who explained they bought them for their prolapsed bosoms, while demanding more bras be produced.

The new buzzword, “herbivore man,” originated in 2006, when author and pop culture columnist Maki Fukasawa compiled a series of her articles published on Nikkei Business Online in a book called Herbivore Man, collected in the Handbook of Man in Heisei Period.

In July 2009, Masahiro Morioka published his new book Herbivore Men's Romance, which led to the widespread concern about Japanese men's feminization.

However, the specific definition is still unclear. According to CNN, “They are young, earn little and spend little, and take a keen interest in fashion and personal appearance.” In Morioka's thinking, instead of courting girls explicitly and bluntly, herbivore men should be the new-era gentlemen. Others define them as men who have love and sexual capabilities but are indifferent to use them.

A survey carried out by a Japanese researcher among single men in their 30s and 40s has revealed that about 61 percent described themselves as “seemingly herbivore men,” while 13 percent said they are “totally herbivore men.”

Well-known Japanese writer Junichi Watanabe considers the herbivore-man phenomenon as a historical inevitability. Owing to the peaceful environment, men have lost the opportunity to show their muscularity, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported.

Junichi Takase, a professor at the Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, has concluded that the increasing number of herbivore men has even given rise to a lack of passion toward soccer games.