Bra for men
(Ananova)
A bra made especially for men is taking Japan by storm.
Mail order company Wishroom started selling the unusual underwear last year.
Unsure of its reception, at first they only produced 160 bras as the start. These sold out immediately, prompting the company to order 5,000 more.
Wishroom president Masayuki Tsuchiya says demand from customers prompted the company to create the male bra.
In Japan, men who wear bras are known as "Bra-o", which means "Bra men".
Wishroom's bras are available in a choice of white, pink and black and retail for around £20. They are all A cup size with chest size ranging from 32ins to 38ins.
According to Mr Tsuchiya, office workers in their 30s and 40s are Wishroom's main clients.
"Japanese salary men have a lot of stress, and the bras seem to relieve that," he said.
Another, more surprising, market has proven to be in their 50s and 60s who, it turns out, also partial to the calming effects of a bra.
"They were the generation we had been told were manly - they led Japan in the post-war period," explains Tsuchiya, speculating they may now be reacting against this stereotype.
