110 "No matter how different in age or income, a man and a woman in a romantic relationship must be basically on an equal footing...

You don't need to feel inferior or guilty unless you are doing anything unfaithful such as having an affair... Of course, you don't need to be overly confident to say "You must be very happy in a relationship with me." Rather, it is necessary for you to admit that you have some faults unreservedly, and to mend some of them if necessary. However, a man or a woman in a relationship basically has a right to think, "I'm on an equal footing with my lover. Each one of us have good points and bad points." If one of you have to curry favor with the other, you should think there is a problem in the relationship."


From "A Book for Loving Your Weak Self" written by Rika Kayama and published by Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc.