For modern society to function, there is a line that must be protected. When it does its job, it’s often taken for granted, but should that line break down, fear and panic will shortly follow. The line must hold at all costs.

However, the line cannot be too thick, lest it rob humanity of the joy it needs to continue as a species. For the line to do all that it must, it must be precariously thin, yet unbreakably strong.

What’s that, you ask? Is this thin line the police, who separate the law-abiding and criminal elements of society? No. We’re talking about Japan’s thinnest condom here.

Like any country, Japan has millions of consenting adults who enjoy their intra-sheet activities. However, with the high costs of housing and education in the country, many red-blooded males choose to strap up before getting down to the nasty business.

Supporting couples in their quest for physical fulfillment is manufacturer Okamoto Condoms, Japan’s biggest domestic prophylactic maker and number three in world market share. In the 80 years since its founding, Okamoto’s reputation has grown larger and larger, due to the quality and thinness of its products.

Some of Okamoto’s biggest sellers today come from its lines of super-thin condoms, with the previously thinnest at just 0.02 millimeters. Now, the company’s technicians have been able to penetrate even that barrier, and Okamoto will soon be rolling out the Okamoto Zero One, a condom just 0.01 millimeters thick.

OC 2

One of the hardest challenges Okamoto faced was in not just creating a condom that is so thin, but that is uniformly thin, too. “I imagine that most people think condoms are already uniformly thin,” said the company’s president, Yoshiyuki Okamoto, “but during the manufacturing process, natural rubber sap tends to collect in the tip.” This presents a problem, as the area shielded by the tip of the condom is also the area that provides the most pleasure. The thinner the condom tip, the better.

▼ You know what? Now that we think about it, if you really needed the explanation behind the equation “thick rubber = bad condom,” you’re probably not old enough to be reading this article.

Moreover, if a condom has irregularities in its thickness, pressure will concentrate in the thinner areas. In order to keep a 0.01-millimeter condom from tearing, the pressure has to be evenly distributed, which in turn requires a uniform thickness.

▼ Again, if you need an explanation as to why a torn condom is a problem ….

In order to keep the Okamoto Zero One at 0.01 millimeters all the way around, engineers made the shift from natural rubber to polyurethane. The result, President Okamoto says, is “a condom that feels like you’re wearing nothing at all,” and also doesn’t block warmth flowing from between you and your partner’s fun parts.

▼ Like cocoa, sex tends to be more enjoyable when it’s warm and/or makes use of whipped cream.

To celebrate the company’s achievement, Okamoto will be giving away JCB gift cards valued at 10,000 yen (US $95) to 1,111 users of the super-thin sheath who go to the company’s website and fill out a questionnaire with their impressions (of the condom, not the girl they slept with).

Unfortunately, the new condom doesn’t officially go on sale until next fall. However, starting on February 7, the company will ship packs of its 0.02 EX series condoms with a single complimentary Okamoto Zero One. So ladies, if the 0.02 EX is your boyfriend’s weapon of choice, but you’ve never seen the 0.01-millimeter wonder, either he’s saving it for a special day, or he’s got some explaining to do.

▼ Remember guys, when the clothes come off, there’s no better way to tell her she’s the one than with the Okamoto Zero One.

OC 1

Source: Shuukan Playboy News
Top image: Okamoto Condoms
Insert images: Okamoto Condoms