IS BALLROOM CHEATING?:

Private eyes fix relationships (MICHAEL HOFFMAN, 4/24/05, Japan Times)

"He showed me a picture of his wife," recalls Mr. M, a private detective. "Gorgeous."

M, 32, has been in business five years, spent mostly tailing unfaithful husbands or wives and reporting the sordid details back to the deserted party.

But lately, says Shukan Taishu, a new twist has crept into the profession. Investigators not only investigate, they try to bring estranged couples back together again.

Like many social trends, this one owes its spark to a TV drama. Four years ago a program showed a wronged wife instructing the detective who had identified her husband's new girlfriend, "Break them up!" Which the detective did, essentially by seducing the girlfriend, who ditched the husband, who returned to his wife, and all lived happily ever after -- except the girlfriend, ditched in turn when the detective moved on to his next case.

Clients inspired by the program began charging their private detectives with breaking up adulterous couples. From there, a logical progression turned detectives into fukuenya, experts in patching up damaged marriages.

That's also essentially the role played by the private eye in the lovely Japanese film, Shall We Dance?

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 23, 2005 9:18 PM