Japanese Teens, Married Couples Losing Sex Drive: Report

Posted: 01/14/11 04:16 PM


Now for some frigid news from Japan that has nothing to do with winter temperatures: a new government-commissioned study finds that young Japanese men are losing their interest in sex, yet another warning sign in a nation notorious for its low birth rate.

According to the AFP, a whopping 36.1 percent of teenage boys between the ages of 16-19 said they had little to no interest in sex, and in some cases even despised it, more than twice the 2008 figure of 17.5 percent. Futhermore, the survey, conducted in September 2010, reportedly found that 83.7 percent of Japanese men who turned 20 this year were not dating anyone, while 49.3 percent said they had never had a girlfriend. Girls, it seems, are suffering a similar lack of heat: 59 percent in the same age group felt the same way, up 12 percentage points from 2008.

Kunio Kitamura, head of the clinic of the Japan Family Planning Association which took part in the survey, said the data confirms a wider social belief that younger Japanese men are becoming "herbivorous," a label attached to passive men who do not actively seek women and sex. Many younger people were opting to delay starting a family due to the perceived burden on their finances, lifestyles and careers. "The findings seem to reflect the increasing shallowness of human relations in today's busy society." Kitamura is quoted by CNN as saying.

The study, which reportedly surveyed 1,301 people aged 16 to 49, yielded a handful of other surprises: 40.8 percent of married people said they had not had sex in the past month, up from 36.5 percent in the 2008 survey and 31.9 percent in the 2004 survey, while nearly 50 percent of married people older than 40 years old said they have not had sex in the past month, the study said. Some participants claimed work fatigue and reluctance to have sex after childbirth, while others say they "can't be bothered."

"Obviously, the most important reason for Japan's declining birth rate is that people are not having sex," Kitamura told the Telegraph. "Combined with the rising number of elderly people, this population imbalance is a major problem."

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Somewhat surprising I guess given their media output.

Might have something to do with the lack of privacy for leisurely sex-play. My daughter when she worked in Asia was astounded to learn that private karaoke booths were the refuge of choice for dating couples. A running timer, cheesy soundtracks and people walking by outside are bound to get old after a bit.

Quite surprising indeed.

I wonder, though, how it compares with other countries who saw their birth rates come crashing down/experienced tremendous economic strain...

Russia is obviously such a country but I somehow doubt that people there are no longer having sex. I am also thinking of countries like Italy and Egypt where the young people have been forced to delay marriage for financial reasons.

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Reminds me of Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou.

I suspect that it might be due to aesthetics. When you get down to it sex is a biological imperative like eating or taking a crap: necessary but butt-ugly. If you do manage to find the perfect girl, do you really want to imprint an image on her mind of yourself gurning and sweating away? In the past you just had to - you needed kids t take care of you in old age and besides you were living the life of a feudal peasant and aesthetics was pretty low down on your list. Now there's good quality of life and state pensions for everyone they can all afford to live the Japanese ideal. Of course, you still have something of a sex drive, but you can deal with that in private now - hence the vast amounts of porn that get published.

I should do a doctorate in this crap.

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