THERE’S a somewhat delicate problem in Japan.

How can we put this? There’s not enough nooky in Nagasaki or coupling in Kyoto. In Tokyo, two aren’t becoming one as much as is needed.

In fact, the reluctance of the Japanese to hop into bed is such a problem, it’s having a dramatic effect on the nation’s population, which plummeted more than 300,000 to 125.6m last year.

In contrast, the population of Australia increased 372,000 in 2016 to 24 million people.

Every one minute and 23 seconds a new person, through birth or migration, arrives in Australia, according to the Australian Bureau for Statistics.

One of the factors behind Japan’s population decline is it’s relatively low levels of immigration.

But a nationwide attack of bashfulness isn’t helping, with young Japanese people barely dating or copulating.

In the country that gave us the love hotel and vending machines full of knickers, nearly half of 18-34-year-olds are still virgins. Sixty-four per cent have never had a relationship, according to research cited by the BBC.

The reasons varied for the wariness about going all the way but included a lack of self-esteem, fear of rejection, all consuming hobbies and the ease of accessing pornography online.

Young people also said that once that left the strict confines of home, rather than having sex, they embraced freedom by drinking with their mates.

“Sex is something I don’t need,” one young woman told the BBC. Another claimed men didn’t try hard enough to attract women.

And that’s a big problem for Japan, which has one the world’s lowest growth rates according to the CIA World fact book.

Figures from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare show births in Japan fell below one million newborns last year for the first time.

The number of foreigners did rise in the country, by seven per cent to 2.3m. This was driven by increasing labour shortages — not surprising in a country with declining population and seniors making up a rising proportion of the total number.

Japan has been reluctant to increase immigration levels in the country but may now have to rethink that policy to boost its population.

If action isn’t taken, the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research estimates that by 2045, the population of Japan will fall by about 900,000 people a year. That’s the equivalent of two cities the size of Canberra disappearing annually.

China makes up the number one source of foreign citizens in Japan at around 700,000 people.

In Australia, Chinese-born people total 500,000 people. The number one nation for immigrants to Australia remains Britain with over one million people having emigrated Down Under.

Although, even Australia’s growth rate isn’t exactly enthusiastic easily outstripped by a slew of nations in Africa and the Middle East.