People shouldn't rush into sex, but they also shouldn't wait around for the 'perfect moment' because I'm not sure that exists. But it appears that there's a large portion of Japanese people who are waiting for a long time before their first sexual experience. Like, a long time.

New research suggests nearly half of people entering their thirties are still virgins. Takashi Sakai, 41, told AFP in 2014: "I've never had a girlfriend. It's never happened. It's not like I'm not interested. I admire women. But I just cannot get on the right track."

He's one of many who suggest they're intimidated by women.

Advert

Ano Matsui told the BBC: "I don't have self-confidence. I was never popular among the girls. Once I asked a girl out but she said no. That traumatised me.

"There are a lot of men like me who find women scary. We are afraid of being rejected. So, we spend time doing hobbies like animation."

A study mentioned in 2015, revealed that 20 percent of people surveyed, aged between 25-29, had very little interest in sex. There was even reports of changing economic factors influencing the way men thought about making the beast with two backs.

Advert

Nancy Snow, from the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, told CNN: "Men are making about a third to half of what they used to make during Japan's economic boom years in the 1980s. Some men's sense of self is tied to their salary and they feel threatened by women who are empowering themselves."

There's also a theory that Japanese men are too busy with sexually explicit manga or internet porn to bother with doing it in real life.

Advert

Another study found that Japanese men and women keep putting marriage off, citing that they want to do it 'eventually'. Futoshi Ishii, head of the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research population dynamics research department told Japan Times: "But they tend to put it off as they have gaps between their ideals and the reality. That's why people marry later or stay single for life, contributing to the nation's low birth rate."

While waiting to get laid for the first time might not seem like a big deal, it's a huge concern for the Japanese government. Japan's NIPSSR's has warned that the country's population could drop by 40 million people by 2065 because of this sexless trend.

Advert