Number of teen boys in Japan who've been kissed at lowest in recorded history: Survey

Life in Japan is decidedly not a shoujo manga.

Only about one out of five high school boys have experienced their first kiss, the lowest since records began in 1974, a national survey found.

Figures in all areas of sexual activity fell across the board for youths of both genders, Japanese media The Mainichi reported.

Well, all areas but one.

Masturbation, apparently, hit record highs for high school students. Go figure.

Not so romantic

The study by the Tokyo-based Japan Association for Sex Education (Jase) surveyed 12,562 students across junior high schools, high schools and university.

Results announced on Nov. 3 found a general decline in sexual activity for youths, following a pattern of behaviour that began in 2005.

The decline in kissing was especially pronounced in high school students.

Statistics revealed that the percentage of high school boys who have experienced their first kiss fell 11.1 per cent to 22.8 per cent (or about one in five).

Meanwhile, the percentage of high school girls fell 13.6 per cent to 27.5 per cent (or about one in four).

Reports of sexual intercourse and dating experience also fell across both genders.

On the other hand, the proportion of teens who reported having tried masturbation rose across all demographics, hitting new records for junior high school girls and high school students in general.

Record lows

Experts suggested that the decline in sexual activity might have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The restrictions on face-to-face contact at a "sensitive time" when high school students were beginning to develop an interest in sexuality might have had an impact, said the professor who analysed the survey results.

But he attributed the rise in masturbation to "increased exposure to sexual expressions in manga and other media", rather than as a substitute for interpersonal sexual behaviour.

The results come amid a consistently falling fertility rate in the island nation.

In 2023, Japan's total fertility rate (TFR) dropped to another all-time low of 1.20, marking the eighth consecutive year of record lows.

Marriage also saw a decrease of 5.9 per cent — the lowest in 90 years.

Prime minister Fumio Kishida called the low birth rate "the biggest crisis Japan faces", according to The Guardian.

Top image from Canva