Online friendship with a guy I like

Ifm German(20) and have been chatting a lot with a Japanese guy(23) for about a half year(by line). I also talked with him a few times via Skype. I like his personality a lot and think I love himc The thing is I donft know if he likes me or not. He seems to be really shy.
While chatting he sends me stickers with hearts, stickers with eI love youf written on it. I do the same in response. But hefs never told me he likes me. Hefs very kind towards me and shows me that sometimes hefs worried about me(at the time of ache and so on). He told me he likes talking with me via line and Ifm the best.. And recently hefs said he wants to start learning my mother tongue.
Do you think he likes me? Sometimes I feel like telling him that I like him but Ifm shy, too.. Is it a shame for a Japanese guy to be confessed by a girl first? You know.. I donft know if itfs right for a girl to do the first move..

He likes you 97%.
All girls should not say that she likes the guy. Guys take the approach different way. You should invite him to say that he likes you.

I disagree with tokyo_friend.

All you can do is bite the bullet and tell him how you feel.

I'm a foreign woman living in Japan and it is known here that Japanese men can be quite shy. Therefore, as foreign women, we have to take the initiative. There is no shame in a Japanese man (or any man for that matter) being confessed to by a woman. In actuality, it is more common then you think.

All girls should not say that she likes the guy. Guys take the approach different way. You should invite him to say that he likes you.

I agree with Tokyo friend completely.

Hmm sometimes we need to take actions depending on the person. Some people are too shy to make a move. If you know he likes you, it wouldn't hurt to say it. "like" , not "love" . At least when you say "like", if he doesn't feel the same; you can turn it around saying as a friend to keep the friendship less awkward.

Thank you all for your replies. I really appreciate it.
I did what Jemineye said.I told him I like him(D‚«) and he thanked me and said he was very happy.. now for 2 days I haven't messaged him..
I'm totally confused... it seems like he doesn't like me..

I'm quite sure that he has a romantic interest in you.
Because all the details you said about him, reveal a lot.

He must certainly be a little bit "shocked" because you just said out loud what you have been thinking for a long time. It had to happen someday, isn't it. Now he must be thinking a lot, having a "pause", maybe he will tell you more about his feelings, next time you chat.

I think he certainly knew before that you are interested in him, so it's not a "breaking news" that you told him!

I really hope that you will both make the situation clear very soon. Unfortunately it happens sometimes that Japanese people... disappear without any explanation. But in your case you seem to be close to each other, I can't imagine that he may suddenly become distant.

I think it's better to say that "I like you as a friend" first rather that a direct approach.

I commend you for being brave. We women spend too much time wondering if a guy may or may not be interested and drive ourselves into an emotional rutt, analysing every comment, speculating over body language...etc, rather than just laying out cards on the table and being straight.

I'm not sure why you haven't messaged him since that day though... Are you trying to give him space?

Izquierda, Jemineye, tokyo friend 48
Thank you for your opinion!

Ifve started to think that he really isnft interested in me, thoughc Maybe he is chatting with other girls and thatfs why he havenft told me about his feelings for me? Today I sent him message(it was too awkward for me to write to him earlier..) andc our conversation was like if I didnft tell him that I like him. He acted/acts as if he liked/s me but finally it occurred he canft tell me how he feels. Ok, I understand that he might have been too shy, too shocked but he had rather a lot of time to think over about itc and today he didnft write anything related to my confession. Sometimes he messages me as if Ifm his gf, but it seems he has no intention to confess.

Then you're gonna have to make a choice. You can continue on as if you didn't actually confess anything or you can be direct because at least then, you'll know where you stand. As painful as it might be, it could be that he isn't romantically interested and is trying to avoid the topic by sweeping it under the carpet because he values your friendship more.

You also need to ask yourself what you're after because obviously this is all happening online. Do you want to commence a relationship? What are you hoping for?

J-Men are in general, are quite shy.
A a foreign woman, I agree with an earlier poster -- you have to make the first move.

I started an e-mail friendship with my (now) J-husband. After a month of chatting & Skype, I bit the bullet and invited him out. Nothing big, just "If you have some free time, shall we go out for lunch together?"

He immediately agreed.

So, why not ask him out? ^_^ He'll probably be over the moon that you asked first.

Best of luck!

as one of Japanese, I may explain some differences of understanding.
I think there is no clear distinction between friendship and love-relationship of a man and a woman in Japan.
love-relationship may comes from friendship.(or love-relationship starts from friendship.)

Japanese may not think Skype conversation is real conversation. chattering on Skype is the first step to be a friend. (To be a friend is another step to be a lover.)

I think you are thinking the confession is the first step of the lovers. but, for a Japanese, the confession is the middle (or final) stage of the lovers.

Jemineye
I know it might sound strange and weird because I havenft met him in a real life yet, but Ifd love to become a woman who is an important person in his life. Talking with him makes me really happyc

A girl (guest)
Thank you for sharing your opinion! Ifd love to do like you said but Ifm still in Europe.. Germany are far away from Japan..

Ken
I really appreciate your opinion!
Do you mean that he might find our friendship as a love-relationship or sth like that?