KAGOSHIMA (TR) – A 23-year-old woman has filed a lawsuit against a highly paid executive at global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, demanding 3 million yen in damages after he allegedly posed as a bachelor on a dating app and tricked her into a sexual relationship.
The case is yet another example of what is being called “bachelor fraud,” reports the site for weekly tabloid Flash (June 30).
The plaintiff, an office worker, matched with the man in his mid-30s on the singles-only dating app Pairs late last year. The man’s profile falsely claimed he was a single entrepreneur living alone in Fukuoka.
During their first date in Kumamoto, which involved high-end sushi and bar-hopping, the man aggressively pushed for a relationship.
“He was intellectual, humorous and seemed to have both time and money,” the plaintiff told reporters. “But I was shocked when he told me he wanted to marry me on our very first meeting.”
The man spun an elaborate web of lies, claiming he had poached elite university graduates from a top global consulting firm to start his own business. Believing his promises of marriage and financial security, A-ko entered a physical relationship. The pair frequently spent weekends at luxury hotels, including the Grand Hyatt in Fukuoka, the Westin in Osaka, and the Sheraton in Kagoshima.
Married with a child
However, the plaintiff grew suspicious of his constant sexual demands and his sudden insistence on secrecy during a trip to Okinawa in February, where he told her it would be “bad if people at my company found out.” She broke off the relationship after three months.
Through an acquaintance, she later uncovered the truth: the man was not an independent entrepreneur, but a recently promoted partner at McKinsey’s Kansai office, earning an estimated 50 million yen annually. Furthermore, he was married and had a 7-year-old daughter.
Further investigation by her revealed potential corporate misconduct. During their dates, the man bragged that he could expense up to 30,000 yen a day for meals and had previously shown her photos of receipts he sent to his secretary.
When the plaintiff requested a reissued receipt from a stay at the Sheraton Kagoshima where the pair had slept together, she discovered the bill was addressed directly to McKinsey.
“Chastity rights”
After rejecting a 500,000-yen settlement offer from the man, the woman filed a civil lawsuit on June 17. She is seeking 3 million yen in compensation for the infringement of her right to sexual self-determination, commonly referred to in Japanese civil law as “chastity rights.”
When approached for comment, the man’s lawyer declined to answer. A legal representative for McKinsey stated that the firm is not in a position to comment on employees’ private lives, adding that they could not confirm any improper processing of corporate expenses.
Bachelor fraud
This is not an isolated case.
Earlier this month, a Tokyo court ordered a man to pay 4.6 million yen for faking being single and impregnating his girlfriend.
In April, a woman in Shikoku came forward to reveal that her partner of over five years confessed to being married after getting her pregnant.
Last year, a woman from Kanagawa Prefecture won a court ruling over a male employee of advertising giant Hakuhodo Inc. after he faked being single.
Legal experts note that Japanese courts are increasingly cracking down on bachelor fraud. Susumu Ino, a lawyer with the Sapporo Bar Association, emphasized that tricking someone into a sexual relationship by hiding a marriage constitutes a severe rights violation.
