The country is in the middle of a ‘sex crisis’ (Picture: Getty Images)

If you’ve been sitting around wondering if Japan will go extinct one day, then wonder no more.

The answer is yes – and that day is apparently August 16, 3766.

At least, that is, according to a doomsday clock put together by researchers at the country’s Tohoku University.

According to their calculations, which were based on Japan’s falling fertility rates and ageing population, the country will dwindle to just one person in just 1,750 years.


Japan’s ‘sex crisis’ has been a problem for 25 years, Business Insider reported. The trend has now reached a critical mass, which scientists are calling a ‘demographic time bomb’.



Researchers Hiroshi Yoshida and Masahiro Ishigaki developed the clock based on fertility and population data from 2014 and 2015.

By their estimates there are fewer than 16 million children alive in Japan right now – a number that continues to fall.

Fewer people are having sex – which means there are fewer babies (Picture: Getty Images)

A recent survey from the Japan Family Planning Association found that 49.3% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 49 hadn’t had sex in the past month – an almost 10% increase from a similar study conducted just two years earlier.

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Both men and women put this down to an uneven work-life balance.

Men in the country work upwards of around 80 hours a week, meaning they often lack the time or energy for sex. Women on the other hand feel like they have to choose between their careers or starting families – with many choosing work.

Still, at least 1,750 years is enough time to get back on the horse… So to speak.