Developers hope Japan device letting men feel period pain will build empathy, openness August 2, 2024 (Mainichi Japan) Japanese version A university student winces while undergoing a period pain simulation in Osaka's Kita Ward on June 16, 2024. (Mainichi/Yosuke Oyake) OSAKA -- "They're holding an event where you can experience period pain. Men should especially see what that feels like," a female journalist colleague advised me. Having not imagined what menstrual pain is like, I headed to the venue to experience a sensation I had never felt before in my life. The event was being held as part of Ethical Expo 2024 in the city of Osaka in mid-June. It was arranged by the student group BeaGe (Beans for Gender Equality), comprising undergraduate and graduate university students in western Japan's Kansai region. Before the experience, I was asked to consent to the pain and asked if I had any health problems. The group then attached two electrode pads to my lower abdomen. They were using a machine called the Perionoid developed by Osaka Heat Cool Inc. The device simulates menstrual pain by using electrical currents to contract the rectus abdominis muscle, with three types of pain: strong, medium and weak. "If you feel you can't bear it, please say 'stop,'" a member of the group told me. Slightly apprehensive, I started at the "weak" level. When the Perionoid was switched on, I felt a kind of shock that was entirely new to me, causing me to lean forward involuntarily. It felt like someone was gripping my abdomen from deep within. BeaGe (Beans for Gender Equality) representative Chisaki Saito, right, and deputy representative Yukino Kozaka pose for this photo provided by BeaGe. "The next level is 'medium.' Are you OK with that?" I was asked. I couldn't write much of an article if I had stopped there スーパーコピー時計  so I gave the green light. "Please proceed," I said. However, I couldn't help but let out a small cry. This time it felt like something was thrashing around inside my stomach, and the pain was strong. "Don't push yourself," I was told, and I immediately answered "OK." But I felt it would be difficult to go about daily life in that condition. Next was "strong." This focused my attention entirely on the pain. I couldn't think about anything else. Apparently when women test the device many of them say the actual pain is close to the "strong" setting. BeaGe was launched in March this year, led by Chisaki Saito, a second-year graduate student at Osaka University, and Yukino Kozaka, a first-year graduate student at Nara Women's University. The pair say they hope the experience will serve as a gateway to discussion on period pain and other gender-specific topics. The group was founded with the understanding that it is difficult to openly talk about menstrual pain and other gender-related issues. Kozaka said she found it hard to talk with her father at home about her periods, and so the topic became one shared between her and her mother alone. At the booth, men who had experienced the simulation shared their thoughts and questions with the organization members, such as ブランドコピー品  "I had never thought about the periods of my mother and older sister," and, "How long does the pain last?" The Perionoid device that simulates period pain is pictured in Osaka's Kita Ward on June 16, 2024. (Mainichi/Yosuke Oyake) Osaka Heat Cool is a venture established by five university professors. The device was developed through research conducted at Konan University and Nara Women's University to reproduce menstrual pain. It has been utilized in corporate training among other events and some 3,000 people across over 70 companies and organizations have undergone the experience. Company representative director Kenzo Ibano, an assistant professor at Osaka University, commented スーパーコピーブランド  "Period pain itself is of course an issue, but you can see that it's even tougher not having the understanding of people around you." According to Ibano, the female university student who came up with the idea for the device had thought that "even between women, menstrual cramp pain is not completely understood," and this became a motivating factor. "It's difficult to communicate how much pain each individual is enduring. Those who experience this think 'I've got to ask others about it,'" he said about the significance of the equipment. A survey of 6,000 women between the ages of 15 and 49 conducted in 2022 by pharmaceutical company Tsumura & Co., which manufactures traditional Kampo medicine, found that around half "do not communicate" the severity of their period pain or premenstrual syndrome (PMS) to those around them. Roughly 60% of respondents reportedly said it had been painful for them emotionally because others around them didn't understand what they were going through. If I hadn't gone through the period pain experience, I wouldn't have thought to imagine the discomfort and difficulties associated with menstrual cramps. It reminded me anew of the importance of understanding and being considerate toward all pain others are experiencing, including period pain. Saito commented 偽ブランド  "If it ended with people just saying they'll be kind to some person because they experienced it and it was painful, I don't think that would be hitting the mark. For example, there are systems for menstrual leave コピーブランド  but hardly anyone is able to use them. I'd like people to turn their attention to the social atmosphere and problems that exist in the background." (Japanese original by Yosuke Oyake, Osaka Editorial Production Center) Font Size SML Print Go to The Mainichi Home Page Related Articles 60% of prospective workers in Japan think they should 'put up with' illness: survey 44% of women at Japanese firms never take leave for period pain: int'l survey