# Why have young people in Japan stopped having sex?



## Makalakumu (Apr 30, 2014)

This is kind of an old article, but still an interesting discussion topic. Apparently, young people in Japan are increasingly opting for the single life. This trend is so powerful, that Japan's population is predicted to fall by a third by 2060. What do you think?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/20/young-people-japan-stopped-having-sex



> The number of single people has reached a record high. A survey in 2011 found that 61% of unmarried men and 49% of women aged 18-34were not in any kind of romantic relationship, a rise of almost 10% from five years earlier. Another study found that a third of people under 30had never dated at all. (There are no figures for same-sex relationships.) Although there has long been a pragmatic separation of love and sex in Japan  a country mostly free of religious morals  sex fares no better. A survey earlier this year by the Japan Family Planning Association (JFPA) found that 45% of women aged 16-24 "were not interested in or despised sexual contact". More than a quarter of men felt the same way.


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## mook jong man (Apr 30, 2014)

I live there , and judging by the amount of "Love Hotels" around the place somebody must still be getting it on.
But from what I've seen on tv shows over here when people are getting interviewed on the street, the young dudes seem to be just interested in their manga stuff and dont want a wife or girlfriend telling them how to spend their money.
They also seem to be a bit shy and socially awkward.

By the same token the Sheilas once they get married are expected to give up their job and become a full time housewife and mother , they've seen the experience of their mothers and most of them want no part of that at all.

I have to say they are quite a weird people placed under a lot of pressure by all sorts of social rituals and expectations that they are supposed to adhere to.
But they can also be very kind and warm people once you break through that barrier of shyness.


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## Kung Fu Wang (Apr 30, 2014)

Makalakumu said:


> What do you think?


You may like to drink milk but you don't have to raise a cow in your back yard.


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## mook jong man (May 1, 2014)

Kung Fu Wang said:


> You may like to drink milk but you don't have to raise a cow in your back yard.



That certainly is true , but out in the suburbs  at least , they are a very tight knit lot.
Most of them seem to live within at least two kilometers of their parents place , and there will always be someone to catch you doing something and repeat it back.
They are very conscious of not bringing any shame on their families.

In the hustle and bustle of a big city like Tokyo things are a bit different , they are a bit more free and easy there away from the watchful eyes of relatives and neighbours.


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## Blindside (May 1, 2014)

I have six cousins on the Japanese side of my family the four older than me, all males, all late forties or older are all unmarried.  My two younger Japanese cousins are in their mid and late twenties and are unmarried, and apparently not really close to anything at this point either, but at least because of their age there is some potential.   I suspect there are many frustrated want-to-be grandmothers in my family tree.  Of my generation of the family the only ones married with kids are my sister and I, and another US based cousin is married as well.  Our little end of the Osada clan will be entirely US based if this trend continues.  Japan is aging incredibly quickly.


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## oftheherd1 (May 1, 2014)

mook jong man said:


> I live there , and judging by the amount of "Love Hotels" around the place somebody must still be getting it on.
> But from what I've seen on tv shows over here when people are getting interviewed on the street, the young dudes seem to be just interested in their manga stuff and dont want a wife or girlfriend telling them how to spend their money.
> They also seem to be a bit shy and socially awkward.
> 
> ...



Lack of marriage, not necessarily sex, seems to be a trend in Korea as well.  My wife attributes that to women being better educated and able to support themselves in the job market; they don't see the need for marriage for support.  I wonder if interviews are not suspect, for the reasons you mention in your post I quoted below.  An interview on TV would invite family and friends at home knowing how they thought, and if they don't appear to be thinking according to the consensus back home, they are in for condemnation.



mook jong man said:


> That certainly is true , but out in the suburbs  at least , they are a very tight knit lot.
> Most of them seem to live within at least two kilometers of their parents place , and there will always be someone to catch you doing something and repeat it back.
> They are very conscious of not bringing any shame on their families.
> 
> In the hustle and bustle of a big city like Tokyo things are a bit different , they are a bit more free and easy there away from the watchful eyes of relatives and neighbours.



As I mentioned, I think interviews on TV would be suspect.  However, what they do in 'private' so to speak, might be very different behavior.  Just not something they wouldn't be willing to let their family and friends back home know about.  So I agree with what you say about a big city like Tokyo.

I have observed what I think is the same in Korea.  That is based on 7 1/2 years there over a little over 15 years, watching things change.  As more young people moved from the watchfulness of their home family and friends, to the big cities and industrial centers, things changed dramatically.  Things that would not have even have been contemplated 20 or 30 years ago, began happening.  They did not have the family constraints.

Similar to what happens to US servicemen when they join the service and get away from the constraints of home; time to sow wild oats and experiment.


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## Rich Parsons (May 1, 2014)

When I have visited Japan in the past for work, I have seen moor younger people waiting until they were older to get married. Why?
#1) Women saying no. As stated above, they are expected to quit their job or take a reduced position so they can leave to be home to make the husband dinner and to get the kids from school if they have kids. Which is also expected. 
The women do not want to give up their independence and freedom.
#2) The men get to live in dorms for their companies. A few may have a car or a motorcycle, but they live within walking distance or short train ride to work. They also take the train to go anywhere outside the local city. So the men do
not want to give up their care free lives of hanging out, going on dates and working late.


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