Young adults in Japan have less sex and researchers do not know why
Review shows half of Japanese young adults reach mid-twenties without sexual experience
Young adults in Japan are having less sex, and researchers do not know why, sciencefocus.com reported. A review published in The Journal of Sex Research estimated that around half of Japanese people reach their mid-twenties with no sexual experience at all, while approximately 10 per cent reach their 30s before having sex. The findings draw on 38 publications and 43 surveys covering sexual trends in Japan from 1974 to 2024.
-
The Tech TL;DR:
- Approximately 50 per cent of Japanese adults aged 20 to 49 report being sexually inactive in the 2020s, having had no sex in the past year.
- The proportion of sexually inexperienced adults aged 20 to 24 rose from slightly over one in three in 2002 to as high as 60 per cent of men and 51 per cent of women in survey data from the 2020s.
- Researchers attribute the trend to a mix of demanding work cultures, shifting economic priorities, and alternative outlets such as fictosexuality and commercial sex services.
Decades of rising sexual inactivity documented across multiple surveys
The review tracked a steady increase in rates of sexual inexperience and inactivity since the millennium. Online survey data from the 2020s indicated that roughly half of Japanese adults aged 20 to 49 are sexually inactive. Among the youngest demographic, aged 20 to 24, inexperience rates climbed significantly from 2002, when just over one in three reported no prior sexual experience. By the 2020s, that figure rose to 60 per cent for men and 51 per cent for women.
The study also highlighted the prevalence of commercial sex services and pornography, particularly among men. Surveys conducted between 2008 and 2024 showed that up to 60 per cent of Japanese men reported previously paying for sex. At the same time, researchers noted a rise in sexlessness within marriage.
Global declines contrast with specific social pressures in Japan
While high-income countries globally report declining sexual frequency—such as a 2019 study showing nearly a third of UK respondents had no sex in the previous month, compared to a quarter in 2001—the authors of the review described the situation in Japan as particularly pronounced. They noted that sexual behaviors in the country are often characterized as a puzzling mix of permissiveness and expectations of discretion.
Survey data from 2020 indicated that 20 to 30 per cent of men aged 20 to 39 did not want to have sex, alongside roughly 40 per cent of women in the same age brackets. Researchers suggested that unmarried adults in their 20s and 30s may be unwilling to invest time and money into dating without a guaranteed path to marriage. Demanding work environments—with about 30 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women working more than 50 hours per week—create logistical barriers to forming and maintaining relationships.
Alternative outlets and expert perspectives on modern intimacy
Alternative forms of connection have gained traction. A 2017 survey of Japanese students aged 16 to 22 found that 14 to 17 per cent experienced romantic feelings toward characters in video games or anime, a phenomenon known as fictosexuality. Meanwhile, societal acceptance of non-heterosexual identities remains limited, alongside limited sex education and low usage of hormonal contraception.
Dr Vanessa Apea, a consultant physician of sexual health at Barts Health NHS Trust who was not involved in the research, told BBC Science Focus that the study was striking for revealing the shifting priorities of young adults. “Rather than a decline in desire, the evidence points to broader social and economic influences at play; long working hours, job insecurity, evolving gender roles, and a cultural emphasis on stability before partnership,” Apea said. She added that while sexual frequency is falling in the UK and US, Japan’s pattern feels more pronounced as a potential early signal of a global shift where modern expectations redefine intimacy. Apea cautioned, however, that the study relied on a wide range of surveys where participants may have defined their sexual experiences differently.