A survey released by the Japan Family Planning
Association revealed that nearly half of married couples in Japan are
living without sex , defined as not having had sex in a month or more.
This survey, titled “ Lifestyles and Attitudes of Men and Women ,”
showed that the most common reasons for lack of sexual intimacy in marriage
were different for men and women.
The study, launched in the first half of 2024 and
the ninth of its kind since 2002, was conducted between September and October
2023. 3,000 men and women between the ages of 16 and 49 were surveyed,
randomly selected by mail and in online, with a valid response rate of 26.6%.
According to the results, 48.3% of
married couples classified themselves as “sexless ,”
an increase of 1.1 percentage points since the previous survey conducted in
2016. This trend has been increasing since 2004, when it was 31.9%.
Among men surveyed, the most common reason was that
their partner “ doesn't respond to my advances ” (24.0%),
followed by “ difficulties after childbirth ” (14.7%) and
“ it's too complicated ” (12.0%). Meanwhile, for women, the
most frequent reasons were “ it's too complicated ” (22.6%),
“ work fatigue ” (20.8%) and “ pregnancy or postnatal
related ” (13.2%).
About 80% of men surveyed expressed
interest in having sex, while about 40% of women indicated they were not
interested. The average age at which
respondents first had sex was 18.9 years. Among those unmarried between the
ages of 18 and 34, 41.4% of men and 36.6% of women indicated that they
had never had sexual relations.
Kunio Kitamura, director of the association and doctor
in charge of the survey, commented: " These results are
probably due to several social stressors. It is very possible that this trend
towards lack of sex will continue in the future . And it didn't
take long for the comments to emerge:
- « With
your first salary, go to a brothel ».
- « Even
if you have a good experience, I don't have that kind of money. If
something goes wrong, it could affect my subsequent masturbation. I will
choose to remain a virgin to avoid risks .
- « For
virgins, I don't think they understand it, but you can't stop being a
virgin by going to a brothel .»
- « They
are lying in their 30s. That sudden decrease is suspicious .
- « Even
if it's just a survey, it's embarrassing! ».
- « Does
everyone start lying as they get older? ».
- « Is
there really a high virginity rate in the 40s and 50s? ».
- « Perhaps
only those who have gone to brothels call themselves non-virgins. Making
love is not the same as sex .
- « It
can't be that high, right? ».
- " The
drastic increase in the 40s is probably due to the stragglers of the ice
age generation, no doubt ."
- « Aren't
they just going to brothels and resigning themselves? Eventually they will
stop having erections .
- « To
reduce the virginity rate, it seems that they are recruiting homosexuals .»
- " That
makes no sense. It seems like they took a very biased sample for this
survey. There can't be that many virgins. I can't believe it ".
Source: TheJapan Times
