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A demographic countdown clock made by researchers at Tokyo University has predicted the exact year when Japan’s dwindling population will shrink to none. Year-on-year reductions in fertility rates paired with an ageing population has created a “demographic time bomb” that is threatening to turn the Japanese into an “endangered species”. The rise in popularity of realistic sex robots and dolls has been blamed in part for social alienation and the lack of newborns in Japan. The “doomsday clock”, developed by economists Hiroshi Yoshida and Masahiro Ishigaki, calculates the Japanese will disappear completely by 3546. Within 558,167 days, the Japanese could be consigned to history, according to the "birth clock" calculator if fertility rates do not improve.

(Image: DS DOLL/RT)

As of April 1 2018, there were 15.53 million Japanese and other children in the nation, down 170,000 from the previous year. The efforts of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to combat the low birth rate appear to be failing as demographers look for answers to explain the precipitous drop. Some experts have pointed the finger at silicone love dolls and life-like robots women and men in Japan are replacing with real people. A survey conducted in 2017 found 49.3% of participants between 18 and 49 had no sex last month. Two years earlier, the percentage was 39 for the question on same survey – a marked increase in Japanese not having sex.

(Image: Tohoku University)

Some researchers have cited the strong work ethic of Japanese people as a possible explanation for the lack of births. Japanese men often work up to 80 hours a week, according to surveys. When faced with the choice between work and pursuing a love interest, some Japanese are choosing sex robots and dolls instead. A documentary by RT, titled “Substitutes”, explored the growing trend of Japanese people using dolls and cyborgs as an outlet to express their romantic and sexual desires.

The film examines how sex dolls are reducing the birth-rate and fuelling "a national mood of loneliness and alienation". Sex dolls sales have been increasing dramatically, according to Japanese firm Dutch Wives, which sold around 2,000 life-like dolls in 2017. The fake plastic women, costing around £4,600 ($6,000), have removable heads and adjustable fingers and genitals, the company said. Sex doll salesman Noburu Tanaka told RT that having sex with a silicone girl is better than the real thing.

(Image: RT)

He said: “It’s an amazing feeling. It looks like a doll, but you feel as though it’s really alive. “When you make love to your wife, there can be some problems. With a doll, none of that matters.” But experts claim sex dolls are dampening the birth-rate and creating a larger demographic of singletons shunning relationships with real women. With a population of 127million, Japan’s fertility rate has been stuck on 1.42 for the past three years, statistics show.

(Image: RT)

Kanako Amano, a demography expert at the NLI Research Institute in Tokyo, warned of a birth-rate crisis should Japan’s population fail to grow. “The biggest problem in Japan is the decline in birthrate and population," he said. “It’s being called a national disaster. “The Japanese are at a crossroads, facing the threat of extinction. We’re an endangered species.”