Bloomberg: The Lust Beneath Japan's Sex Drought

Above, weekenders near Shibuya Station.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

While this story has been swirling around a bit, it was only yesterday that I posted anything about it.

It is on the supposed lack of interest in sex by Japanese young men. Bloomberg.com has now chimed in on the story.

They wrote, in part:

Japan's low birthrate (are you listening Mr. Prime Minister?) is a result of exorbitant living costs, elevated stress and diminished confidence. Even after two decades of deflation, prices in Japan for everything from rent to food to entertainment remain among the highest in the world. Economic stagnation and changes in labor laws have restrained wage growth and enabled companies to swap employees into low-paying part-time jobs with few benefits. This means the exclusion of more and more Japanese from the lifetime employment system that's long been the cornerstone of Japan Inc., forcing many to work additional jobs. If you leave for work at 6 a.m. and get home close to midnight, including weekends, where is there time for dating? 

Young Japanese, especially men, don't feel financially secure enough to enter into long-term relationships, never mind getting married or starting families. At the same time, little has been done to blunt the institutionalized sexism that exacerbates Japan's low birthrate. Hardships women face in balancing careers and family encourages many to delay marriage and motherhood. If Japanese felt better about the future, they wouldn't be so reluctant to start building their own.

Perhaps this is something we Americans should keep in mind and take steps to try to prevent from happening here. Since many workers are being converted to part-time status to avoid ObamaCare penalties by companies (on top of the ongoing economic weakness), this scenario could just happen in the United States.

To read the full story, go here.