Meeting your brother’s girlfriend

※ This happened to me on 12th of May 2017.

Today, I told a Japanese friend of mine, that I will meet my brother and his girlfriend tomorrow in Kyōto. First, I thought he did not understand my English, but his reaction actually meant that he was not sure, this is culturally acceptable.

They are not married. So, in Japan you are not allowed to meet your brother’s girlfriend, before they marry. In Japan, many people are shy for that.

— said by a Japanese friend

I think "shy for that" means they hesitate to do so, because of social conventions. I was kind of baffled. I know that Japan politically serves conversative positions, but this is something I really did not expect. I need to investigate how much "many people" are.