Japan: High school boys' first kiss rate hits 1970s low
A recent survey by the Japanese Association for Sex Education (JASE) has highlighted a drastic decline in high school boys' first kiss. The study discovered that only 22.8% of senior high school boys in Japan had their first kiss in the 2023 academic year, a decrease of 11.1% points since 2017. This is the lowest number since JASE started its sexual behavior surveys among youth in 1974.
Girls also report decline in 1st kiss experiences
The survey also emphasized a similar trend among girls of the same age group. Only 27.5% reported having had their first kiss, a decline of 13.6% points since 2017. The study, which included responses from over 12,500 students, found that the proportion of students who had kissed for the first time has been declining since its peak in 2005 when half the students had kissed.
Decrease in sexual activity among Japanese students
The JASE survey also found a decline in sexual activity among junior and senior high school students. Only 12% of these students said they had had sexual intercourse, with the number slightly higher at 14.8% among girls. This is a decline from previous years. The association proposed that the COVID-19 pandemic may have played a role in these trends by restricting social interactions among students due to school closures and advice to avoid confined spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings.
Pandemic restrictions and media influence on sexual behavior
Musashi University's sociology professor Yusuke Hayashi, who analyzed the survey results, noted that pandemic-related restrictions coincided with a critical developmental stage for these students. He suggested that increased exposure to sexual imagery in media could explain why more students reported engaging in solitary sexual habits like masturbation. "The greater prevalence of masturbation may be due to increased exposure to [sexual imagery] in manga and other media, rather than as a substitute for interpersonal sexual behavior," Hayashi told Mainichi Shimbun.
Concerns over Japan's declining birthrate amid sexual disengagement
Tamaki Kawasaki, a columnist and sociology lecturer, raised alarm over the wider disinterest in physical sexual activity among young Japanese post-pandemic. She wrote, "It shows that the trend is for people to move away from real, physical sexual activity... If teens, who represent the country's future, continue like this then it is hard to see any improvement in the declining birthrate." The trend could affect Japan's already declining birthrate if it continues among teens who represent the country's future.
