1) Sexuality in Japan developed separately from that of mainland Asia [clarification needed] as 2) Japan did not adopt the Confucian view of marriage, in which chastity is highly valued. 3) Monogamy in marriage is often thought to be less important in Japan, and sometimes married men may seek pleasure from courtesans. 4) Prostitution in Japan has a long history, and became especially popular during the Japanese economic miracle, as evening entertainments were tax-deductible.
So far, so good. Sounds completely unstrange. But then:
5) Decreased sex drive in the 21st century has been blamed for the low Japanese birth rate and declining growth of the Japanese population.[2]
What? All of a sudden in twenty-two years they lost their sex drive? Strange.
...
Wikipedia has a section right before prostitution on pornography but I don't understand Japanese porn.
Prostitution
Prostitution has existed in some form throughout Japan's history. Despite the Anti-Prostitution Law of 1956, various legal loopholes, liberal interpretations of the law, and loose enforcement have allowed the sex industry to prosper and earn an estimated 2.3 trillion yen a year.[28]
Well has prostitution fallen off from 2.3T yen with their sex drive?
Fetish scene
Skipped. Didn't want to read about licking eyeballs.
Homosexuality
skipped.
This is what I wanted to get to:
Decreasing sexual activity
1) Sexual desire and sexual activity have been declining in Japan for years, and this is a cause of Japan's decreasing birth rate.[39]
Wikipedia, you have to explain this! How long? Why?
Because Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world and its population is on course to shrink dramatically by the middle of the century, every five years the government carries out a detailed survey of attitudes to sex and marriage. 2) The studies and surveys have reported loss of sexual drive across several demographics, from adolescent men and women, to married couples.
ADOLESCENT MEN! Wait, adolescent MEN? You mean "boys"? That's like what "adolescent men" are. THERE ARE NO ADOLESCENT MEN! IDIOTS!
In 2010, the 14th Japanese National Fertility Survey was conducted by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. 3) Singles between the ages of 18–34 who are not involved in a romantic relationship and do not want one amounted to 28% for men and 23% for women.
Goodness gracious.
4) It was also found that 28% of men and 26% of women aged 35–39 had no sexual experience.[40] However, the possibility of response bias should be taken into consideration with these figures.[citation needed]
Are you fucking kidding me. Wait! What response bias? They're telling researchers what they think the questioner wants to hear? Since Japan's birth rate is down so much I would think respondents would want to tell the government they're doin' their part by doin' it every day! Wikipedia, come on.
5) In 2010, another survey published The Japanese Association for Sex Education Research Journal found that 40.8% (up from 34.6% in 2006) of marriages in Japan could be classified as "sexless", which the Japan Society of Sexual Sciences generally defines as "engaging in sex less than once a month, despite not suffering from any health-related conditions". 6) Among the top reasons married couples cite for not having sex, is that after children are in the picture (couples are even discouraged from having intercourse while pregnant), sex can decrease markedly or even become nonexistent for a habit-forming period of time. [I get that. Sincerely, I totally get that.] 7) About 1 in 5 couples say they simply view sex as a nuisance,[Get it.] a small number cite the lack of private space, because elderly or the children often sleep on just the other side of paper-thin walls. Some are too stressed out from work, [Get it.] others have "more fun things to do". [I don't think I ever felt THAT way.] 8) There is also a tendency among Japanese married couples to feel an aversion to sex with their spouse because they've come to feel that they have more of a relative/sibling relationship, and accordingly cannot see their spouse as a sexual partner anymore.[41]
9) Additionally, 36.1% of males and 58.5% of female respondents aged 16 to 19 surveyed described themselves as "indifferent or averse" towards having sex. A near 18% and 12% increase respectively, since the survey was last conducted in 2008. It was also reported that 10) 83.7% of men who turned 20 that year were not dating anyone, with 49.3% stating they had never had a girlfriend. 59% of female respondents of the same age group responded similarly, a 12% increase from the 2008 survey.[41]
11) Some scholars have criticized the media reporting and scholarship on so-called "sexless" Japan many of these surveys exclude LGBT people, divorcees, widows, single parents or people who have married between the ages of 18-30.[42] This necessarily exaggerates the number of virgins by excluding a huge segment of the sexually active population.[43] The surveys research methodology are also outdated and based on the faulty assumption that everyone is heterosexual and has never divorced or had a child out of wedlock.[44] The motivations behind the studies are also questionable since they are linked to government attempts to justify the funding of programs for arranged marriage partners.[45]
Okay. Wikipedia, ARE THESE STATS TO BE TRUSTED OR NOT!
In a global context, a 12) 2005 Sex Survey of 317,000 people in 41 countries conducted by Durex, the largest condom manufacturer in the world, found that the Japanese had the least sex in the world, at 45 times a year, with the second-to-last country of Singapore averaging 73 times a year, and the world average at 103 times a year. Additionally the survey reported that only 24% of Japanese respondents said they were happy with their sex lives, compared to the global average of 44%.[46]
Okay! That sounds consistent. Condoms though are so like pre-1970. What is distribution of the pill like in Japan?
13) The reasons for this decline in sex interest are still widely discussed; There are many theories and different contributing factors. A large part of it may be attributed to the fact that in most respects, men and women live very separate lives socially, [Why is that?] and there is little relaxed contact with the opposite sex outside of school ties or friends from the office, [What, Japan has no bars?] and in turn, less opportunity to freely mingle without commercial transaction through the sex-industry.[47] [Does that mean if you go to a bar you're considered looking to buy or sell sex?] This, combined with young men's growing reliance on pornography, can be thought to have a large impact on the real-world sex interest due to its “overstimulating” effect.[48][49]
Ah! Young Japanese guys are pornosexual! But Wikipedia, these are among reasons that are "widely discussed": Is there no independent, methodologically-sound, reliable data on any of this? I find that almost impossible to believe from a research-driven, data-based people.
