It truly seems to be a poor season for manliness in Japan, as informal surveys revealed that nearly half of Japanese men have admitted to sitting down to do Number One.

While in principle I oppose the idea that there are gender-specific standards of behavior, this sorts of "facts" make me sigh in despair. From herbivore men who prefer cats to people to the growing 2D love movement, it's hard not to see this as a sort of national "pussying out."

Granted, this is highly informal TV survey, placed on an entertainment show about manliness (it was aired just after the segment about ouendan). Japanese TV's penchant for drama and sensationalism is well-known. It was displayed in spades as the program's "experts" reasoning that being scolded for missing the damn bowl is to blame for Japan's national sit-down. 

I'm thinking that it was simply more convenient for men to just sit down. I do so quite often when going in the middle of the night. Missing the bowl is, after all, terribly inconvenient. I just hope they don't do it in public stalls. Eww.

Catch the video after the jump.