In many countries, it is the right of teenagers: the first kiss.
But a new survey of Japanese high school students has revealed that four in five boys aged 15-18 have yet to reach this important milestone.
And things are no different for girls, with just over a quarter of high school girls having their first kiss.
These are the lowest figures recorded since Japan first started asking teenagers about their sexual habits in 1974 – and are likely to be a concern in a country with low fertility rates. lowest in the world.
The study by the Japan Association for Sex Education (Jase) interviewed 12,562 students in middle schools, high schools and universities – asking them about everything from kissing to having sex. .
The survey takes place every six years and recorded the first decline in kisses since 2005 – when the number was almost one in two.
But this year’s report shows that kissing isn’t the only area where numbers are falling. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it also showed a decline in the number of young Japanese people having sex.
According to the study, the proportion of high school boys who said they had had sex dropped 3.5 points from 2017 to 12%. For high school girls, this rate decreased by 5.3 points to 14.8%.
Experts have pointed to the impact of the Covid pandemic as one possible reason for the decline.
School closures and restrictions on physical contact during the Covid pandemic may have affected many of these students, as it occurred “at a sensitive time when [they were] began to be interested in sex,” according to Yusuke Hayashi, a sociology professor at Musashi University Quoted in Mainichi newspaper.
However, the survey found one area of increase: the number of teens admitting to masturbation across all demographic groups is at a record high.
The results come after a separate survey earlier this year showed Nearly half of all marriages in Japan are genderless.
The results of the surveys come as Japan struggles to stem a falling birth rate and have raised further concerns. In 2023, the then prime minister warned that The country’s low birth rate has pushed the country to the brink of being able to function.
Some researchers say the population – currently at 125 million – could fall below 53 million by the end of the century. A range of other contributing factors have been cited as possible contributors – including rising costs of living, more women in school and work, and access to contraception more, leading women to choose to have fewer children.
Japan already has the world’s oldest population, measured by the United Nations as the proportion of people aged 65 and over.
At the end of 2023, Japan announced for the first time One in every 10 people in this country is 80 years old or older.
In March, diaper maker Oji Holdings announced it would Stop making diapers for babies Focusing on producing diapers for adults.
