MASAYUKI Ozaki bounced back when the spark went out of his marriage — by starting a new romance with a rubber sex doll he swears is the love of his life.

The ultra-realistic silicone dummy, called Mayu, shares his bed under the same roof as his wife and teenage daughter in Tokyo, an unusual arrangement that triggered angry rows before the family declared a delicate truce.

20 Physiotherapist Masayuki Ozaki puts his silicone sex doll Mayu to bed at a love hotel in Yachimata, Japan Credit: Getty Images

20 She normally lives with him under the same roof as his wife and teenage daughter Credit: Getty Images

20 Masayuki, 45, takes her out on dates in a wheelchair and says she listens to him better than his wife Credit: Getty Images

20 He tenderly washes her in the bath during a stay at the love hotel Credit: Getty Images

20 Masayuki says he is in love with Mayu and wants to be buried with her when he dies Credit: Getty Images

20 Sex dolls like Mayu come with detachable heads with interchangeable wigs, adjustable fingers and realistic genitals Credit: Getty Images

Masayuki, 45, said: "After my wife gave birth we stopped having sex and I felt a deep sense of loneliness.

"But the moment I saw Mayu in the showroom, it was love at first sight.

"My wife was furious when I first brought Mayu home. These days she puts up with it, reluctantly.

"When my daughter realised it wasn't a giant Barbie doll, she freaked out and said it was gross — but now she's old enough to share Mayu's clothes."

Masayuki, who works as a physio, takes his doll out on dates in a wheelchair and dresses her in wigs, sexy clothes and jewellery.

He admits to being turned off by human relationships, adding during a seaside stroll with his rubber companion: "Japanese women are cold-hearted.

"They're very selfish. Men want someone to listen to them without grumbling when they get home from work.

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"Whatever problems I have, Mayu is always there waiting for me. I love her to bits and want to be with her for ever.

"I can't imagine going back to a human being. I want to be buried with her and take her to heaven."

He is one of an increasing number of Japanese men turning to romantic relationships with sex dolls in a country that has officially lost its mojo.

Experts are worried by Japan's plummeting birth rate, which poses serious problems for the future of the economy as it faces a dwindling number of workers.

20 Masayuki Ozaki and his silicone sex doll Mayu sit in his car after spending a night together at a love hotel in Yachimata Credit: Getty Images

20 The couple take in the view on a romantic stroll along the seaside Credit: Getty Images

20 Masayuki said: 'The moment I saw Mayu in the showroom, it was love at first sight' Credit: Getty Images

20 He has a total of three dolls in his bedroom in Tokyo while his wife sleeps in another room Credit: Getty Images

20 A craftsman works on the head of a silicone sex doll in a doll factory in Saitama. Around 2,000 are sold each year in Japan Credit: Getty Images

But a growing number of men — known as "herbivores" — are turning their backs on marriage and traditional masculine values for a quiet, uncompetitive life.

Every year around 2,000 of the life-like sex dolls — which cost from £4,600 and come with adjustable fingers, removable head and realistic genitals — are sold in Japan.

Hideo Tsuchiya, managing director of doll maker Orient Industry, said: "Technology has come a long way since those nasty inflatable dolls in the 1970s.

"They look incredibly real now and it feels like you're touching human skin. More men are buying them because they feel they can actually communicate with the dolls."

They are popular with disabled customers and widowers, as well as mannequin fetishists, and some men use dolls to avoid heartache.

Senji Nakajima, 62, tenderly bathes his rubber girlfriend Saori, has framed photos of her on his wall and even takes her skiing and surfing.

20 Senji Nakajima picnics with his silicone sex doll Saori under cherry blossoms in Yamanashi prefecture, Japan Credit: Getty Images

20 The 62-year-old dresses his rubber lover in a sarong for a day at the beach during a stay at a love hotel Credit: Getty Images

20 He regularly takes his silicone girlfriend surfing and skiing Credit: Getty Images

20 Senji said: 'She never betrays me, she makes my worries melt away' Credit: Getty Images

20 Tokyo businessman Senji carefully prepares Saori's wig after dressing her in a bikini Credit: Getty Images

20 He lives with her in a cramped apartment after his wife banned the doll from the family home, but says he cannot live without her Credit: Getty Images

He said on a romantic picnic beneath a canopy of cherry blossom: "Human beings are so demanding. People always want something from you — like money or commitment.

"My heart flutters when I come home to Saori. She never betrays me, she makes my worries melt away."

Senji's romance with Saori has divided his family and his wife has banned her from the family home, but the Tokyo-born businessman refuses to give her up.

He said: "My son accepts it, my daughter can't.

"I'll never date a real woman again — they're heartless."

The doll sleeps in his bed in a cluttered apartment on the outskirts of Tokyo, sandwiched between two dolls from previous dalliances and a headless rubber torso.

He admits reconciliation with his estranged wife is unlikely, adding: "I wouldn't be able to take a bath with Saori, or snuggle up with her and watch TV.

"I don't want to destroy what I have with her."

20 A collection of dolls and erotica fills the home of Yoshitaka Hyodo in Saitama, Japan Credit: Getty Images

20 He dresses some of his ten life-sized sex dolls in uniforms to act out military-themed fantasies Credit: Getty Images

20 Yoshitaka says his hobby is cheaper than buying a Lamborghini and he has a very understanding girlfriend Credit: Getty Images

And while the pillow talk is decidedly one-way, Senji believes he has discovered true love.

He said: "I'd never cheat on her, even with a prostitute, because to me she's human."

Another doll lover is Yoshitaka Hyodo, whose home in Saitama is an Aladdin's Cave of dolls, kitsch toys and Japanese erotica.

He lives alone but has an "understanding" girlfriend. She would have to be as he owns more than ten life-size dummies, many of which he dresses in combat uniform to play out wartime fantasies.

The 43-year-old blogger said: "In the future I think more and more guys will choose relationships with dolls.

"It's less stress and they complain a lot less than women."

But he claims to have cut down on having sex with dolls.

He said: "It's more about connecting on an emotional level for me now.

"People might think I'm weird, but it's no different from collecting sports cars. I don't know how much I've spent but it's cheaper than a Lamborghini."

Future doll users can expect more bang for their buck as researchers are developing next-generation sexbots able to talk, laugh, simulate an orgasm — and even remember your birthday.

But for now, Masayuki's long-suffering wife Riho tries hard to ignore the rubber temptress silently taunting her from her husband's bedroom.

She said: "I just get on with the housework.

"I make the dinner, I clean, I do the washing. I choose sleep over sex."

Last month we told how a Japanese fetish doll exhibition celebrating 40 years of the industry attracted hundreds of horny visitors.

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