Japanese Women Curl Up With the Perfect Man

For singletons and insomniacs, he is proving the ideal partner.

This is a man who does not snore or fidget in bed, and who is happy to wrap a reassuring arm around his nearest and dearest until morning arrives.

He does exist, but - inevitably - there is a catch.

This man comes without a head and is stuffed full of foam. He is the pillow-shaped man, the latest sleeping aid from Japan.

Made by the linen maker Kameo, it comprises a torso and a flexible arm that can be curled around its owner.

About 1,000 women have already bought the pillows since they went on sale last year and many say they are pleased with their passive but loyal sleeping companion.

They include Junko Suzuki. "I like to sleep holding some one's hand," the 34-year-old radio DJ said. "And this pillow makes me feel relaxed because I can hold the arm and feel something warm at my side."

Ms Suzuki, who is separated from her husband, said she could sleep secure in the knowledge that her pillow would not "betray" her.

But according to Kameo, the pillow is more than just an emotional crutch for those tired of spending the night alone. It is shaped, the firm says, to support its partner on both sides to ensure a night of blissful shuteye.

The idea is to curl up in between the body and crooked arm, with the head resting on the pillow's "bicep".

"My grandmother used to say that there is no more comfortable a pillow than another person," said Kameo's president, Tomoki Kakehashi. "So I thought that maybe women would want to sleep on a pillow shaped like an arm."

The pillows, on sale only in Japan, cost 8,500 yen (£40) each and come with shirt-shaped covers in blue, pink or green.

Aware that some people are a bit choosier about who they share a bed with, Kameo is working on more muscular and more slender versions of the pillow, and has developed a prototype female pillow, dressed in a skirt with a soft "lap" to rest on.