YouTuber Wamuu, who stands 164cm tall, spoke on ABEMA Prime about his complex over being short — including once shaving a few centimeters off his real height on a matching app, and being told “if only you were 8cm taller.” The average height of Japanese men at age 20 is said to be about 171.3cm, a figure that has stayed roughly flat since the 1980s. On 5ch, threads mixed comments like “height doesn’t matter if your income or personality are good” with posts mocking his height outright, and the discussion snowballed into a full-blown debate over how height relates to marriage and romance.
“They told me ‘if only you were 8cm taller’…” — 164cm man who once fudged his height on a matching app opens up about facing his short-height complex | Domestic | ABEMA TIMES
ABEMA Prime 2026/09/12 07:30
The average height of Japanese men at age 20 is about 171.3cm, and it has stayed roughly flat since around 1980. Wamuu, a YouTuber standing 164cm, says he’s felt self-conscious about being below average since his school days, and has especially felt it puts him at a disadvantage in dating.
Dating apps are basically just like shopping for appliances.
7AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:21
If the woman you're with is eye-level with you or taller, it can't be denied that it stings a guy's pride.
9AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:23
Even if you're short, you can land a girlfriend as long as your income is solid.
10AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:23
Lifting weights helps. I'm 162cm, but after training to broaden my shoulders and build up my chest, people tell me I look like I'm around 170cm.
11AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:23
Plenty of short guys have girlfriends. This is just a boring sob story.
13AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:23
Never believe a guy's claimed 170cm or a girl's claimed 58cm waist.
17AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:24
Every guy I know who's in the low 160s is married. Isn't it just that you didn't try hard enough?
18AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:24
At 164cm, if you've got a normal income and a decent face and personality, you can date and marry plenty of great women. Guys who blame their height for not being popular are just unpopular because their income, looks, or personality are bad.
19AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:25
Even at 150cm, if you're pulling in 100 million yen a year, you're set. Stop using height as an excuse.
21AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:26
There must be tons of guys at 164cm in Japan. He's probably the only one who's bothered by it. Just saying, though.
23AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:26
Threads coddling pathetic middle-aged guys ("weak ossan") whose only redeeming feature is a not-too-short height they got from their parents sure do rack up the replies, huh (lol).
24AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:26
On dating apps, if you don't have money, your looks get scrutinized hard — it's nothing but a bad time.
31AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:29
I don't think people care as much as you'd expect. It really just comes down to whether you've got money.
32AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:29
8cm of height isn't exactly a "just a little more" kind of gap, lol.
33AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:30
I'm 158cm, but back when I was young I met people just fine on matching apps (dating sites) and even got married. Being self-pitying is the worst thing you can do. Honestly, go after tall women if anything.
35AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:30
I'm 160cm, and I did manage to get married. Well, I'm grateful for that, but our personalities don't really mesh, we don't have kids, and honestly I feel like I could get divorced any day now…
36AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:31
If you've got money or power, anything's possible — just look at Mr. Maezawa (Yusaku Maezawa, the billionaire ex-Zozo founder).
37AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:31
@⊿ In the Netherlands, urinals are mounted at 160cm.
39AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:32
Apparently being small is actually an advantage for cave exploring.
40AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:32
Takashi Okamura (comedian, of the duo Ninety-Nine): "Don't bother with women like that."
41AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:33
I'm 189cm and honestly there's nothing great about it. What's especially annoying is my feet are 30cm, so huge that the only shoes I can buy are from the "big size corner♪" (´･ω･\`). Being average is best — average.
63AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:38
Re: #41 Japanese houses are a pain, aren't they? I know someone who bangs his head every time he goes in and out of a room.
45AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:34
I think nutrition and sleep habits later in life can make up to a 5cm difference.
51AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:37
Re: #45 I'm 183cm, but my dad is 170cm and my mom is 160cm. So it's not just genetics. What comes to mind is that until about 4th grade I drank a liter of milk every day, and I slept 10 hours a night all the way through elementary school.
74AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:42
Guys under 170cm who lift weights just end up looking even more ridiculous because their frame is too small.
80AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:44
Re: #74 Because the joints are spaced closer together, shorter guys actually get a bigger visual payoff from working out.
84AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:45
Re: #74 It's exactly because people like you say stuff like that that it becomes a complex in the first place. Why are you so harsh on other people? It's his own business whether he wants to train or not.
86AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:45
Man, that's rough.
98AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:49
Re: #86 It's not rough at all — he ended up marrying a woman who told him she's not with him because of his height. With a woman like that, who doesn't treat men as accessories, he can be happy.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
According to the ABEMA Prime report this article is based on, the average height of Japanese men at age 20 is about 171.3cm, a figure that has stayed roughly flat since the 1980s. Wamuu’s 164cm sits about 7cm below that average. On the 5ch thread, his claim of being at a disadvantage in romance because of his height drew a mix of responses — some countering that “it all comes down to income or personality,” others dismissing it as “just not trying hard enough,” and others simply mocking his height — with no real consensus emerging. At the same time, several posters shared personal stories suggesting that nutrition and sleep during one’s growing years, not just genetics, can affect final height, showing that the roots of this kind of complex aren’t so simple. It’s also worth noting that the original article reflects Wamuu’s personal experience alone, and isn’t statistical evidence of broader dating-market trends for short men.
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