Less Than Quarter of Japanese Youths Have Sexual Experience: Poll
Various surveys show that young Japanese, who were becoming more sexually active at one stage, have become less so in recent years. This was one of the reasons why The Nippon Foundation conducted an online survey between July 17 to 24 on the subject of “Sexual Activity”, covering 1,000 Japanese across the country aged between 17 and 19.
The poll found that less than one fourth of the respondents (23.6%) had had a sexual experience, of whom a little over one in five (22.2%) had their first experience at the age of 15 or younger.
When asked whether they find sex education at school useful, more than half (58.5%) answered yes with the rest (41.5%) saying no. Queried about what they wished had been covered in greater detail in school sex education, the top answer (40.9%) was “love and healthy sexual relationships.”
The poll also showed that a great majority of Japanese youths (94.6%) feel the need to use contraception unless they want to get pregnant or get someone pregnant.
Nearly three in five males (58.5%) said they used contraceptives, while only 6.4% said it is their partners who do. Almost the same percentage of females (5.2%) said they use contraceptives and more than half (56.0%) said it is for their partners to use them. It is noteworthy that about two in three (66.7%) males and almost three in four females (73.0%) are anxious about contraceptive methods.
Asked whether they have sufficient knowledge regarding sex, less than one in four (24.3%) answered in the affirmative and almost three in 10 (29.7%) in the negative, with less than half (45.9%) saying they don’t know.
Queried about who they would consult if they or their partner suspected or confirmed a pregnancy, their mother was listed highest by both males (40.5%) and females (50.6%), followed by friends (29.5% for males and 40.7% for females). But there were wide differences between men (28.8%) and women (6.5%) in choosing to consult with their father, while 17.4% said they would not consult with anyone.
Regarding the possibility of catching a sexually transmissible infection (STI), 40.4% said they are very worried and 39.9% are slightly worried. Nine in 10 (89.5%) said they have not caught an STI, while 1.1% said they have and 0.8% said they have even though they do not know its name.
When asked about a proposal now under consideration by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for making emergency contraception pills available without a prescription, more than 70% (71.4%) supported the idea with a small portion of them (5.5%) opposing it.
As reasons for supporting the proposal, most of them cited the need to act swiftly in case of rape or in case contraception fails (78.2%) and the need for as many options as possible to avoid unwanted pregnancy (65.1%). Many of those who opposed the proposal (76.0%) said that it would encourage an easy-going approach to having sex.
Under the Medical Practitioner’s Act, one needs a prescription issued by a medical practitioner to use an emergency contraception pill. Of course, young people should not have an easy-going attitude toward having sex. However, since such pills are ineffective unless taken within 72 hours of intercours, I believe the most realistic way is to make them available at drug stores without prescription as waiting for a doctor’s prescription could take too long. Therefore, I am in favor of the proposal.
Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, a lot more Japanese teenagers have sought pregnancy counseling. This prompted The Nippon Foundation to launch last year a pregnancy support project and set up an expert council on sex and pregnancy. We would like to use the findings of the latest survey in undertaking the support project and when making the council’s policy recommendations.
