Japanese youngsters 'too poor for sex'

Updated
Sexless Japan:  Youngsters Can't Afford Sex
Sexless Japan: Youngsters Can't Afford Sex


Japan's young people are going off sex - and the chairman of the country's family planning association thinks the problem is that it's too expensive.

While 1.3 million people died in Japan last year, only 1 million babies were born - a record low - and by 2060 the country's population is predicted to fall by a third. The low birth rate is perhaps most starkly highlighted by the fact that, in 2012, adult incontinence pants started outselling babies' nappies.

And it's not just that Japan's young people don't want to have children; they apparently don't want sex either. According to the Family Planning Association, 45% of young women between 16 and 24 are either uninterested in sex, or despise it. More than a quarter of young men felt the same.

"If things continue as they are, it is without doubt Japan's population will decrease rapidly," said the association's chairman, Dr Kunio Kitamura. "If the tendency towards sexlessness continues, Japan's future will become dark."

Astonishingly, he says that a large part of the reason appears to be the cost of dating.

"To create conditions that lead to sex, that requires a lot of money," he says. "For example, you have to go on a lot of dates, perhaps to an expensive bar or something. Young people usually have very little money."

Perhaps as a result, according to research by Japanese insurance company Meiji Yasuda Life, a third of under-30s have never been on a date at all.

But there may be other reasons. Japanese women have become far more independent in recent years, and the country's harsh work culture means it's difficult to work and raise a family. Around 70% of Japanese women quit work after having a baby. Making matters worse, even childless married women are rarely promoted, making marriage itself damaging to a career.

But Japan isn't the only place to be concerned by a comparatively sexless younger generation. In Denmark, where the birth rate is now only 1.69 babies per woman - compared with the 2.1 required to maintain a steady population - travel company Spies Travel has launched a campaign.

Titled 'Do It For Mum', it plays on people's desire for grandchildren, urging them to encourage their adult children to breed by sending them off on a romantic holiday. The first 100 couples to book also get an 'activity package' with champagne, massage oil and protein bars.



Read more on AOL Money:

Affluence 'affects mating strategy'

Cost of rising a child to 11 is almost £87k

Slash the costs of buying for a new baby

Bank of Japan Holds Rates Steady: Is Abenomics Working?
Bank of Japan Holds Rates Steady: Is Abenomics Working?


Advertisement