Survey Shows Decline in First Kisses Among Japanese High School Students, Sparking Concerns About Youth Disengagement from Relationships

 

A recent survey by the Japanese Association for Sex Education reveals that only 22.8% of boys in senior high school in Japan have experienced their first kiss, marking the lowest figure since the organization began tracking young people’s sexual behavior in 1974. The report, covering the 2023 academic year, also found that 27.5% of girls in the same age group reported having their first kiss. Both figures have seen a notable drop since the last survey in 2017, with boys’ responses declining by 11.1 percentage points and girls by 13.6 points.

The findings suggest a shift in young people’s behavior, with the proportion of senior high school students (ages 15-18) who have kissed someone for the first time consistently decreasing since peaking in 2005, when nearly half of surveyed students reported having had their first kiss. The survey, which collected responses from over 12,500 junior high, senior high, and university students, indicated a decline in intimate experiences across all age groups compared to 2017.

In addition, only 12% of junior and senior high school students reported having had sexual intercourse, a decrease of several percentage points since the previous survey. However, solitary sexual habits showed an upward trend, with more students reporting masturbation across all age groups. Experts suggest that this shift could be linked to greater exposure to sexual imagery in media, such as manga, as a substitute for interpersonal intimacy.

The association attributes the decrease in in-person interactions to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions on school attendance and official guidelines to avoid “confined spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings” likely reduced opportunities for social interaction, including romantic experiences, during a formative period in students' lives.

Sociology professor Yusuke Hayashi of Musashi University noted that the pandemic occurred at a time when many adolescents begin exploring their sexuality, making the effects on their social behavior even more pronounced. He suggested that the greater prevalence of masturbation could be due to exposure to sexual content in media, rather than as an alternative to physical intimacy.

Columnist and sociology lecturer Tamaki Kawasaki echoed concerns about these trends, describing a “uniform disengagement” from physical relationships among young people. In an article for President magazine, Kawasaki warned that the shift away from in-person intimacy toward solitary consumption of sexual content could have long-term implications for Japan’s declining birth rate. “If teens, who represent the country’s future, continue like this, it is hard to see any improvement in the birthrate,” she wrote.

This survey highlights the evolving social behaviors of Japanese youth and raises questions about the future of intimate relationships in Japan amid a shifting cultural landscape.