One of the kinkiest countries in the world is having less and less sex. Read on to find out why.
It seems funny that a country so associated with unique pornographic themes, sexual fantasies, and AV stars would also be a country where sex is on a sharp decline. The decline is even more concerning because it is compounding to the already existing worry of Japan’s population decline.
The youth of Japan are having less and less sex, the population is declining, yet the elderly are doing this. GO FIGURE!
The evidence of the decline in sex among the Japanese is based on national surveys conducted by the Japanese government, both by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, and the Japan Family Planning Association. The numbers are indeed concerning, with 45% of young women in the age range of 16-24 reporting they either hate or are not interested in having sex and over 25% of men in the same age group feeling the same. Furthermore, over 50% of both men and women ages 18-34 report not being in a romantic relationship. These statistics beg the question, what the hell is going on?!
Ironically this graph also corresponds to the way that the decline of the Japanese boner has looked as well.
While there are a complex interplay of factors contributing to the decline in sex among the Japanese, here are 5 primary reasons.
These cock blocking octopi aren’t helping either.
1) Attitudes Towards the Opposite Sex
This is good news for Asian Americans, a population that I feel has become very desirable in the past decade. At least in my eyes and many of my friends, including many non-Asian friends, the old stereotypes of Asians being weak, nerdy, poor at sports, and non-masculine have vanished because they simply aren’t true.
Vanished or perhaps never even should have existed as evidenced by the criminally forgotten American silent film star Sessue Hayakawa. He was not only considered a heart throb in the 1920’s but also one of the United States’ FIRST SEX SYMBOL.
On the contrary, it is now Asian Americans that are associated with being gym rats, being athletic, having masculine interests like sports and street cars, having the best parties, and while still holding on to the desirable stereotype of being highly likely to be accomplished.
For MMA superstar Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama, Asians being considered desirable was not news.
However, for whatever reason, a large number of men in Japan do not seem to be on this band wagon. In fact, there is a phrase in Japan, “soshoku danshi” that is growing in popularity when applied to Japanese men. The phrase translates to “herbivore men” and basically refers to men that are soft and non-masculine and OK with being so, even to the point of feeling that they don’t care about relationships with the opposite sex. While the men are not caring, the women in Japan also want to be part of this – for the women who do want a relationship, they want to be with a man, not a boy.
This may or may not be an accurate depiction of the current social issue we are discussing.
2) Attitudes Towards Relationships and Marriage
Japan has seen HUGE changes to the attitudes towards relationships and marriage in the past few decades, not unlike many other countries around the world, including America. For instance, more and more women in Japan, like in America, have become extremely career driven. There is even a notion in Japan that marriage is a grave for women because the culture is extremely unconducive to working mothers.
“Peace out marriage! We got work to do.”
As Japan has very traditionally been a male dominated society, the belief is that if a woman marries and has children, she must give up her career. This is in contrast to America where women have a much more favorable position and try to do it all, with many women CEOs being mothers as well. Furthermore, many men and women report in the surveys conducted by the Japanese government that they deem relationships too much work and not worth the effort in lieu of their hectic work lives and personal hobbies and interests.
Unless of course you are this guy, who was able to make the best of both worlds.
This is compounded in the male mind by the still existing notion that in order to have a relationship and maybe one day a family, one must make enough money on their own to support such a life and still buy the woman nice things in the process.
Even for this guy who married his pillow, the pressure to provide for his new bride is immense. New covers and laundry detergent to clean his bride ain’t gonna buy themselves ya know!
3) Attitudes Towards Traditional Cultural Values
Adding to some of the things mentioned in previous paragraphs, though Japan’s practices have been drastically changing over recent decades, attitudes seem to be lagging behind. For instance, even though many women are now extremely career oriented, Japan’s workforce is still heavily male dominated and male controlled.
“Listen Godzilla, I’m the boss and I need you to come in Saturday to redo your TPS reports!”-The Man keeping everyone down.
Unlike in America, though it is now normal for women have long careers in Japan, it is not normal or condoned for them to have both a fruitful career and children. Adding to this, there is still the notion that in a family environment it is the man’s job to earn and income and the woman’s job to stay home and have children.
“That’s it sweety eat up! Just like you ate up all of mommy’s hopes and dreams!”
This notion in Japan has been much more resistant to change in Japan than it has in America where stay-at-home dads are becoming almost common. Furthermore, compounding all of these problems and notions about family and women is the fact that Japan has an extremely tough and outdated corporate culture in addition to having a crazy high cost of living.
Didn’t believe it when we said Japan had an outdated corporate culture? Just look at how that samurai is smoking a cigar in the common area and we dare you to tell us it is up to date!
Most corporations in Japan expect workers, both men and women alike, to work long hours 6 days per week effectively leaving very little time to think about relationships and family. Furthermore, with the cost of living in Japan, unless a man makes a very high income, a woman will need to work if the couple wants to have kids thereby creating a conflict between cultural notions and practical needs.
” I work too hard to have to come in on a Saturday!”
4) Internet and Technology
If the problems created by the cultural issues and the male-female dynamics aren’t enough, the internet and technology are essentially providing an alternative, though ineffective solution to these problems thus creating even more problems. Even with sex on the decline, people still have sexual urges and needs thus will find some way to fulfill these.
No matter how weird or octopus hat filled, the needs get fulfilled in Japan.
Unfortunately, things has gotten to the point of possibly unhealthy practices as human contact is being replaced with things like fancy, and even lifelike, sex dolls. Apparently, there are now brothels in Japan not for prostitutes but for sex dolls!
If you think it was awkward when housekeeping walks in on you with a real girl in bed, just think about how awkward it will be with when they see you with one of THESE!
In addition, I have heard reports of men being only able to get aroused from robotic or anime porn as they have become so addicted. There are of course some people that even prefer porn over real sex for a variety of reasons like less hassle, no chance of rejection, and so on. Thus, add convenience to the mix and one can see why many people opt for self-pleasure over real sex.
Imagine the amount of coins you are going to need to use one of these…
*Stay tuned for more on sex dolls and sex doll brothels in Japan in a follow up article!*
5) Attitudes About Sex
So if relationships are too much work and marriage is too negatively stigmatized, why can’t people just have more casual sex as is so prevalent in American culture (think Sex and the City). Well, some people in Japan certainly do, but for a variety of reasons already discussed above, the environment is just not conducive for this to be as prevalent as it is in America.
For one thing there are too many dick noses running around.
For one, Japan is still very patriarchal – the view is that men desire sex and women, if they comply, women are kind of expected to lay there and take it instead of being the initiator with desires of her own.
Which as Megumi Fujii has proven, not all Japanese women are going to just lay there and take it.
Two, with more men in Japan OK with being portrayed as “herbivore men” and being into their hobbies rather than caring about having sex, this means less men in the casual sex pool.
Thug life.
Three, many women in Japan are judged as being whores if they have casual sex. Japanese men have perpetuated the stereotype that young women should be innocent and almost virgin like.
These double standards are getting out of hand… as expected of Japan REALLY WEIRD!
And finally four, as discussed in relation to the internet and technology, there are many alternatives to sex that men are actually finding more appealing, or at least satisfying enough to forgo the hassle of establishing sexual relationships.
Could this be one of them? We don’t even know anymore.
Hence, with the interplay of the factors discussed above constantly at work, Japan better do something quick before the people stop having sex altogether and the population tanks to dangerous levels!
Let’s hope that dangerous level doesn’t ever come to vegetable based sex dolls.
Written by Risa Clark