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Japanese men aim to be cool dads
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More and more Japanese men now are aiming to join the ranks of the "Cool Dads" like Jonny Depp and Brad Pitt, in sharp contrast to their own fathers who were known for their "work-till-you-drop" and "leave the kids to the wife" lifestyles.
Magazines have sprung up to guide them on everything from "Child-rearing, the Male Way" to "How to Become a Beloved Dad", reflecting the trendiness of being a hands-on parent.
"We're no longer living in an era when it's expected that men go out and women stay home," said Tomohiro Shimizu, publisher of FQ Japan, which stands for Father's Quarterly.
"Fathers in their 30s and 40s still feel a bit ashamed of being adotingparent. We want to change that," added Shimizu, 39, who has a 3-year-old son.
FQ Japan debuted in December and the maiden issue featured Depp and the words: "Be a Cool Dad" on the cover. The magazine also ran interviews with celebrity fathers and had plenty of information on parenting products, such as "stylish" buggies.
FQ was first published in Britain in 2003. Shimizu said that when he raised the idea at the time of making a Japanese edition, colleagues said it wouldn't sell.
Perceptions gradually changed, and several parenting magazines aimed at the male reader have now hit newstands, some focusing on education, others on fashion tips for the stylish father.
"Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, David Beckham the cool guys, all have children," said Kiyohiko Okubo, publisher of Oceans, anup-marketfashion magazine.
"Some playboy-types may have thought it was cool to go out secretly with a woman," said Okubo. "But more and more men are starting to feel that it is really cool to spend time with their family."
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(Agencies)
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如今，越來越多的日本男性想加入強尼·戴普和布拉德·皮特的“酷爸爸”行列，這和他們父輩“只顧自己的工作”，而“把孩子丟給妻子”的做法形成了鮮明對比。
近年來，日本出現了一批如“爸爸育兒”及“怎樣成為一個好爸爸”等指導男性育兒的雜志，這也反映了日本正在興起一股“做好爸爸”{的潮流。
《爸爸》季刊日本版的出版商清水友廣說：“男主外、女主內的時代已經過去。”
“一些三、四十歲的爸爸仍然有點羞于寵愛孩子，我們想改變這種觀念。”今年39歲的清水友廣有一個三歲的兒子。
《爸爸》雜志日本版于去年12月首次發行，創刊號的封面用的是強尼·戴普的照片，上面寫著“做個酷爸爸”。雜志里還有“名人爸爸專訪”欄目，而且還提供了很多類似“時髦童車”等育兒產品的信息。
《爸爸》雜志于2003年在英國創刊。清水說，當時他建議出版《爸爸》雜志的日文版，但同事們對此都不太看好。
隨著人們觀念的改變，如今幾種面向爸爸的育兒雜志在日本也開始暢銷起來。這些雜志有的側重于如何教育孩子、有的則教時髦爸爸們如何穿衣打扮。
高端市場時尚雜志《海洋》的出版商大久保清彥說："強尼·戴普、布拉德·皮特和大衛·貝克漢姆這些'酷星'們都有孩子。"
“有些‘花花公子’類型的男人可能認為和女人秘密約會很‘酷’，但越來越多的男性則開始意識到投入家庭生活才是真正的‘酷’。”
（英語點津姍姍編輯）
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