Despite the fact that plenty of tall guys can be found walking around Japan these days, it’s still true that the national average height for an adult Japanese male is 170cm (5’5″), which, compared to the figures for countries like the US, UK and Australia (all around 177cm, or 5’10”) might seem a little on the shorter side for some.

However, it’s not all bad news for shorter guys looking to find love in Japan—many Japanese women actually really like shorter men, and here are some of the reasons they gave as to why they like their fellas fun-sized.

With the rise of dating sites, we’ve recently been able to gain access to a huge amount of data on what people of both sexes really want from a partner. In particular, it seems that shorter guys and taller ladies tend to get the short (no pun intended) end of the dating stick when it comes to receiving messages from users of the opposite sex. From an evolutionary standpoint, it does make some sense—women are (still) on some level looking for physically larger mates who can protect them from potential predators, and some guys may feel emasculated by dating a woman who towers over him in her stocking feet.

But if we get too caught up in quibbling over feet and inches, we can forget the most important thing: whether or not we like the person themselves! Luckily, many women in Japan actually like short guys, and with the national average height for women being 158cm (5’2″), even guys who are a little on the short side might find they’re actually taller than a lot of the ladies here.

An online survey conducted by Japanese site My Navi Woman asked 215 Japanese women between the ages of 22 and 34 what they like about shorter men. Here’s what some of the surveyees had to say!

“Personally, I find it adorable when shorter guys have a little bit of a complex about their height. Like when they say, ‘I know I’m not a tall guy, but…’ it just makes me melt! Especially since I don’t care one bit if they’re tall or not.”

“I find the way short men move to be quite appealing, and they’re cute like little animals!”

“They have this ‘little-brother’ quality that is just too cute!”

Hmm, so it seems that the Japanese propensity for loving cuteness in all things even extends to potential boyfriends! But still, we reckon some guys would prefer not to be seen as cute woodland animals or little brothers by the girls they’re dating just because they’re a few inches shorter than average. Let’s see what some of the women who are on the small side themselves had to say!

“I’m short myself, and most guys are taller than me, so it’s no big deal. Personally, I prefer it if he’s short like me so we can make eye contact easily.”

“Since I’m very short, all men seem tall to me. And I love movies and dramas where the female character is taller than the male character. I actually find guys way hotter when they’re short.”

“I’m short too, so I enjoy the feeling of equality with shorter guys. It’s like we’re on the same level.”

It makes sense to us that smaller ladies don’t always prefer craning their necks just to make eye contact with their fella. It just goes to show that taller isn’t always best!

▼ No matter the country, people come in different shapes and sizes, although the whole Japanese = short, westerner = tall gag is an easy one to make.

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Finally, quite a few of the ladies polled said that height isn’t an issue when it comes to whether or not they find a man attractive. Instead, they claim that it really is what’s inside that counts, valuing a nice personality, gentlemanly demeanour, and confidence in one’s own masculinity more highly than an extra couple of inches:

“Even if he’s short, if he can show me he’s manly, I’ll be putty in his hands.”

“Once you get to know the guy inside, you don’t care about his height at all. “

“I don’t care if he’s short or whatever, as long as he’s a gentleman!”

So there you have it, fellas, if you want to have success dating lovely Japanese ladies, just be yourselves! After all, height is something that can’t ever be changed, so why not go for someone who appreciates you as you are?

Source:  Excite, Wikipedia – Average height around the world
Main Image: Flickr/Brentinoz