According to a survey involving more than 12,500 students conducted by the Japan Association for Sex Education (JASE) published in the newspaper, only one in five high school boys in Japan have experienced their first kiss – dating back to 1974. This is the lowest figure since then. MainichiThe survey conducted in the 2023 academic year revealed that only 22.8 percent of boys had experienced their first kiss, while 27.5 percent of girls in the same age group had had their first kiss.
Since peaking in 2005, the proportion of high school students in Japan who have had their first kiss has been steadily declining. Additionally, the proportion who have had sexual intercourse among high school boys also fell by 3.5 points to 12 percent, while among high school girls the figure fell by 5.3 points to 14.8 percent.
Experts have blamed the COVID-19 pandemic as a possible reason for the decline in numbers as high school students were forced to stay at home and urged to avoid the ‘three C’s’ : Crowded places, confined spaces, and close-contact settings.
Columnist and sociology lecturer Tamaki Kawasaki said Japanese youth are increasingly choosing to stay at home and watch sexual material alone, threatening an already low birth rate.
Kawasaki said, “This shows that people have a tendency to move away from actual, physical sexual activities, even at times when it is natural for them to be sexually active.” Guardian.
“Instead, they have a strong tendency to stay at home and watch sexual material alone. It is difficult to see any improvement in the declining birthrate if teenagers, who represent the future of the country, continue like this.”
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Declining birth rate and aging population
Japan has been facing the double blow of a declining birth rate and an aging population in recent years. The number of babies born in the country is set to fall for the eighth consecutive year to 758,631 in 2023, according to government data.
Meanwhile, the number of citizens aged 65 and above is expected to reach a staggering 36.25 million in 2024, accounting for 29.3 percent of the total population.
