Super Terrific Japanese Thing: Virtual Wife

Settle down, boys and girls?it’s not nearly as bad as you might think. These “wives” are actually just cellphone programs that nag you, since that’s all anyone expects wives to do. From Trends in Japan:

Subscribers to the free service can choose from one of four virtual wives, who include a cute maid caf? waitress, a cool domineering analyst, a motherly nurse, and a fashionable nail artist, and even pick her name. Users then input their height, weight, and lifestyle habits.

In return, they receive 4 emails daily from their virtual wife that include nagging reminders not to engage in unhealthy habits and suggestions for reaching their ideal body weight?all in a tone of voice appropriate to the chosen character. The service also includes a ?meal management tool? with a space to input a menu and find out how many calories are likely involved.

Despite the preposterous inclusion of a maid caf? wife, this still has to be one of the most innocent devices ever featured on Super Terrific Japanese Thing. It makes me realize that when Japan isn’t bizarre and hideously perverse, it makes me kind of uneasy.