A recent study by the Japanese Association for Sex Education found that only 1 in 5 high school boys in Japan have experienced a kiss, marking a decline in rates of sexual experience to levels similar to those seen more than 30 years ago. This research, which is part of the ninth edition of the “National Survey on Young People's Sexual Behavior”, was carried out between August 2023 and March 2024 and covered 12,562 students from different levels of education, including primary, secondary and university education.

The results showed that only 22.81% of high school students reported having ever kissed, which represents a significant drop of 11.1 percentage points compared to the last survey in 2017. Secondary school girls, on the other hand, also showed a notable decrease, with 27.5% having experienced a kiss, which represents a reduction of 13.6 points compared to the previous survey. These numbers suggest a downward trend since their peak in 2005, when 1 in 2 high school students had had at least one kissing experience.

Researchers speculate that the COVID-19 pandemic may have influenced this decline, as lockdown and contact restrictions during a critical period in young people's social development affected their opportunities to interact physically. According to Professor Yusuke Hayashi (林雄亮), from Musashi University, who participated in the study, “the social distancing imposed during the pandemic may have had a significant impact on the way adolescents experience their sexual awakening”.

In addition to analyzing kissing experiences, the study also examined the rate of sexual activity. The results showed that the rate of sexual intercourse among high school girls decreased to 14.8%, representing a reduction of 5.3 points since 2017. Among boys, the rate also fell, standing at 12.0%. In contrast, university students and those attending lower secondary education showed rates that were almost unchanged compared to previous years, suggesting that the decline is largely concentrated in the group of secondary school adolescents.

The results of this study generated a variety of reactions among social media users. One of the most popular comments expressed surprise: “Are you serious? Isn't that too low?“. Others pointed out the discomfort that can arise when being interviewed about such an intimate topic: “It's weird that they ask you a survey about kissing, it must be weird“.

Some users criticized the survey's approach, calling it invasive: “Carrying out this type of investigation constitutes sexual harassment in itself.“However, there were also those who saw the results from a more optimistic perspective: “It's amazing how pure the world still is!“. Regarding perceptions about interactions between young people, one comment highlighted that although “It is no longer common to see teenagers kissing anywhere, seeing couples hugging is increasingly common“.

Source: Live News