[spicytuna]

I wouldn't say that it's normal but I don't think it's uncommon, especially for men.

Men are expected to conform to the regular routine of getting into a good university, getting a good job, etc. Some of them take it so seriously that they end up lacking the social skills to interact with the opposite sex. Especially in a place like Tokyo where everyone seems to live their life with a pair of blinders.

One of my friends was a hostess and she mentioned that many of her clients were men who were actually afraid of talking to women and resorted to hostess clubs since they were much more accommodating.