Japan Daily Press: http://japandailypress.com/japans-love-affair-with-pornography-killing-real-sex-drive-209572
By Cynthia Ruble
August 20, 2012

I had a hunch. Then, I did a search “pornography sexual drive.” Up came articles about how pornography is killing the sex drive of American men. An article in New York Magazine told stories of men who were having dates with porn stars on the internet while becoming less able to perform with the real women in their lives. The poor female partners of these men were trying their best to imitate these porn stars, but the men were only “freaked out” by their best efforts.

Hmm…porn-saturated Japan has a notoriously low-level of sexual activity, even among married couples. And in recent years young people are also losing interest in sex. This is a country where pornography is everywhere and available to children. Could there be a connection?

Lately, research has shown that high school and college students in Japan are significantly less likely to have had sex than in previous years. The largest decreases were in college women (60% in 2005 to 47% in 2011) and high school boys (27% to 15%). The most common reason cited is that many Japanese young men have become “Soshoku-kei Danshi” (草食系男子), which roughly translates as “herbivoire boys.” As opposed to the “carnivore” of the past, these guys are supposed to be more passive, to prefer to stay in and to generally be uninterested in sex. It has been a little sad to hear the tone of contempt of these stories, as if it’s common knowledge that all teenagers should be out having sex.

Just 10 years ago, the big concern in Japan was that teen sexual behavior had “undergone drastic changes,” with teens becoming “highly sexually active.” Teen abortions had doubled; STDs were spreading, and there was a fear of increasing AIDS infections. Teens in Japan were 10 times more likely than teens in other developed nations to pay for sex, and many were having sex with multiple partners.¹

Let’s at least assume that some of the decrease of teen sexual activity is due to a desire to forego STDs and unwanted pregnancies. Some few may be eagerly waiting for true love, even marriage! If there were more such young people, Japan would see a surge in marriage and births instead of the current population decline with no end in sight.

The real problem has been uncovered by other research that shows that 36% of males 16-19 years old and 59% of females the same age are uninterested in or even despise sex. (Huffington Post, 1/30/2012). A similarly disturbing trend was found in research last year: 61% of single men and 49% of single women 18-34 had no significant other. (Japan Today, 11/27/2011)

The question that needs asking is: How may pervasive pornography be affecting the current sexual behaviors and attitudes of young people?

Another article in New York Magazine featured interviews of 6th grade girls who were dealing with the influence of pornography on their boyfriends. (Yes, children anywhere can access pornography now via the internet.) The pornography was causing some little girls to feel ashamed of their undeveloped bodies and others to vie for boys’ attention by posting soft-porn photos of themselves on the net.

It made me wonder what these little girls would be like in 10 years. Would they be willing to compete with porn stars for the attention of their men? Or would they be jaded and tired of the whole game by then? Realize that young Japanese women have been dealing with the effects of pornography their whole lives. It’s no wonder if they despise sex and men or both.

I asked a Japanese college freshmen, “Masa,” this question: “Why do you think Japanese young people are losing interest in sex?” I chose Masa because he seems to be the most normal Japanese young man ever. He’s very smart, outgoing, adventurous and popular with people of all ages and both genders. The first line of his response was, “I think the biggest reason is the spread of pornographic websites on the internet.”

Masa went on to explain that young men are interested in sexual acts but just not in having sex. They are able to get rid of sexual frustration through the porn they see on their computers and other media without having to worry about pregnancy. Lest you see this as a helpful “outlet” for teen boys, realize that frequent viewing of pornography can cause serious problems, such as:

* Addiction;

* The need for more and more porn and the inability to get aroused naturally;

* Being misled by the images, so that they won’t be able to tell what’s normal sexual behavior and what isn’t;

* Negative effects on the development of healthy sexuality that will affect their relationships in the future.²

Masa pointed out that some young people are being traumatized by the porn. It can cause misunderstandings about sex which leads to a desire to avoid it altogether. He acknowledges also that some young men, like the “herbivores,” have a hard time with relationships.

Another group Masa discussed were young men obsessed with pornographic manga (Japan’s wildly popular genre of comics). He assumed these men would probably never be interested in a real relationship with a real woman. You wonder if looking at manga porn from childhood is what led these guys into a possible lifetime of obsession with imaginary girls versus real love.

On the other hand, Masa said it is easy to find real girls willing to have sex. A 20-something Japanese woman I talked to said that sex is too easy, nothing special, and taken for granted, and so she has seen a decline in interest in sex among men.

The sharp rise in meaningless sex among teenagers 10 years ago may have been the first wave of abnormality produced by early exposure to pornography. Today’s more explicit on-line porn seems to be taking young people down the spiral to actually despising sex. I wonder what will be next…despising oneself, life? And I wonder what it will take for Japan to admit it has a problem… a problem other countries may soon be sharing.

1. Masao Ono-Kihara, Masahiro Kihara, and Hiroshi Yamazaki, “Sexual Practices and the Risk for HIV/STDs Infection of Youth in Japan,” JMAJ 45(12): 520–525, 2002

2. I am summarizing from here.