Japan's sex problem means people are quitting dating, marrying friends

A humanoid robot named "I-Fairy" acting as a witness at the wedding ceremony between Tomohiro Shibata and Satoko Inoue in Tokyo in 2010. The couple decided to use the robot, which conducted the ceremony with its audio functions, from Inoue's company to perform the witness' duties as they first met because of common work interest related to robots. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

The Japanese sex problem has become so desperate that its young population has given up on dating and is just marrying friends.

A government survey found 69% of Japanese men and 59% of Japanese women do not have a romantic partner.

One Japanese aggregator website has since been awash with stories of how people have simply married lifelong friends.

The country has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, with just 8.4 children being born per 1,000 inhabitants over the past five years.

Its population of 127 million people is predicted to decrease to 87 million by 2060.

The survey, carried out by the country's National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, also reported that about 80% of unmarried Japanese want to get married.

In recent weeks, people have posted stories to the aggregator website Matome Naver, telling how in one case a colleague married a friend of 10 years.

The trend has been coined "Kousai zero Nichikon": roughly translated as "marrying without dating."

Japanese actress Maki Horikita married costar Koji Yamamoto in 2015 after just a month of dating.

A column in the Joshi Spa magazine last month compared hunting for a marriage partner with suicide.

There is no real evidence that the kousai zero nichikon trend is taking the far-eastern islands by storm.

But it draws parallels with Japan's now mostly defunct omiai arranged-marriage tradition, in which parents suggested partners for their adult children.

After the sexual-partners survey was released earlier this year, columnist and sociologist Maki Fukasawa criticized the media's use of his own term to describe the sex problem: "Herbivore men."

"

| Japans | problem | means | people | quitting | dating, | marrying | friends | humanoid | robot | named | Fairy | acting | witness | wedding | ceremony | between | Tomohiro | Shibata | Satoko | Inoue | Tokyo | 2010 | couple | decided | which | conducted | with | audio | functions | from | Inoues | company | perform | duties | they | first | because | common | work | interest | related | robots | span> | REUTERS | Yuriko | Nakao< | span>< | p> The | Japanese | become | desperate | that | young | population | given | dating | just | p> A | government | survey | found | women | have | romantic | partner | p> One | Japanese< | aggregator | website | since | been | awash | stories | simply | married | lifelong | country | lowest | birth | rates | world | children | being | born | inhabitants | over | past | five | years | p> Its | million | predicted | decrease | 2060< | carried | countrys | National | Institute | Population | Social | Security | Research | also | reported | about | unmarried | want | p> In | recent | weeks | posted | Matome | Naver< | telling | case | colleague | friend | trend | coined | Kousai | zero | Nichikon: | roughly | translated | without | p> Japanese | actress | Maki | Hori | costar | Koji | Yamamoto | 2015 | after | month | p> A | column | Joshi | magazine< | last | compared | hunting | marriage | suicide | p> There | real | evidence | kousai | nichikon | taking | eastern | islands | storm | p> But | draws | parallels | mostly | defunct | omiai | arranged | tradition | parents | suggested | partners | their | adult | p> After | sexual | released | earlier | this | year | columnist | sociologist | Fukasawa< | criticized | medias | term | describe | problem: | Herbivore | men< | p> |

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Japan's sex problem means people are quitting dating, marrying friends

REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

The Japanese sex problem has become so desperate that its young population has given up on dating and is just marrying friends.

A government survey found 69% of Japanese men and 59% of Japanese women do not have a romantic partner.

One Japanese aggregator website has since been awash with stories of how people have simply married lifelong friends.

The country has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, with just 8.4 children being born per 1,000 inhabitants over the past five years.

Its population of 127 million people is predicted to decrease to 87 million by 2060.

The survey, carried out by the country's National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, also reported that about 80% of unmarried Japanese want to get married.

In recent weeks, people have posted stories to the aggregator website Matome Naver, telling how in one case a colleague married a friend of 10 years.

The trend has been coined "Kousai zero Nichikon": roughly translated as "marrying without dating."

Japanese actress Maki Horikita married costar Koji Yamamoto in 2015 after just a month of dating.

A column in the Joshi Spa magazine last month compared hunting for a marriage partner with suicide.

There is no real evidence that the kousai zero nichikon trend is taking the far-eastern islands by storm.

But it draws parallels with Japan's now mostly defunct omiai arranged-marriage tradition, in which parents suggested partners for their adult children.

After the sexual-partners survey was released earlier this year, columnist and sociologist Maki Fukasawa criticized the media's use of his own term to describe the sex problem: "Herbivore men."

Read the original article on The Independent. Copyright 2016. Follow The Independent on Twitter.

"

| Japans | problem | means | people | quitting | dating, | marrying | friends | REUTERS | Yuriko | Nakao< | span>< | p> The | Japanese | become | desperate | that | young | population | given | dating | just | p> A | government | survey | found | women | have | romantic | partner | p> One | Japanese< | aggregator | website | since | been | awash | with | stories | simply | married | lifelong | country | lowest | birth | rates | world | children | being | born | inhabitants | over | past | five | years | p> Its | million | predicted | decrease | 2060< | carried | countrys | National | Institute | Population | Social | Security | Research | also | reported | about | unmarried | want | p> In | recent | weeks | posted | Matome | Naver< | telling | case | colleague | friend | trend | coined | Kousai | zero | Nichikon: | roughly | translated | without | p> Japanese | actress | Maki | Hori | costar | Koji | Yamamoto | 2015 | after | month | p> A | column | Joshi | magazine< | last | compared | hunting | marriage | suicide | p> There | real | evidence | kousai | nichikon | taking | eastern | islands | storm | p> But | draws | parallels | mostly | defunct | omiai | arranged | tradition | which | parents | suggested | partners | their | adult | p> After | sexual | released | earlier | this | year | columnist | sociologist | Fukasawa< | criticized | medias | term | describe | problem: | Herbivore | men< | p> < | div> Read | original | article< | Independent< | Copyright | 2016 | Follow | Independent | Twitter< | p> |

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Japan's sex problem means people are quitting dating, marrying friends

A humanoid robot named "I-Fairy" acting as a witness at the wedding ceremony between Tomohiro Shibata and Satoko Inoue in Tokyo in 2010. The couple decided to use the robot, which conducted the ceremony with its audio functions, from Inoue's company to perform the witness' duties as they first met because of common work interest related to robots. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

The Japanese sex problem has become so desperate that its young population has given up on dating and is just marrying friends.

A government survey found 69% of Japanese men and 59% of Japanese women do not have a romantic partner.

One Japanese aggregator website has since been awash with stories of how people have simply married lifelong friends.

The country has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, with just 8.4 children being born per 1,000 inhabitants over the past five years.

Its population of 127 million people is predicted to decrease to 87 million by 2060.

The survey, carried out by the country's National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, also reported that about 80% of unmarried Japanese want to get married.

In recent weeks, people have posted stories to the aggregator website Matome Naver, telling how in one case a colleague married a friend of 10 years.

The trend has been coined "Kousai zero Nichikon": roughly translated as "marrying without dating."

Japanese actress Maki Horikita married costar Koji Yamamoto in 2015 after just a month of dating.

A column in the Joshi Spa magazine last month compared hunting for a marriage partner with suicide.

There is no real evidence that the kousai zero nichikon trend is taking the far-eastern islands by storm.

But it draws parallels with Japan's now mostly defunct omiai arranged-marriage tradition, in which parents suggested partners for their adult children.

After the sexual-partners survey was released earlier this year, columnist and sociologist Maki Fukasawa criticized the media's use of his own term to describe the sex problem: "Herbivore men."

"

| Japans | problem | means | people | quitting | dating, | marrying | friends | humanoid | robot | named | Fairy | acting | witness | wedding | ceremony | between | Tomohiro | Shibata | Satoko | Inoue | Tokyo | 2010 | couple | decided | which | conducted | with | audio | functions | from | Inoues | company | perform | duties | they | first | because | common | work | interest | related | robots | span> | REUTERS | Yuriko | Nakao< | span>< | p> The | Japanese | become | desperate | that | young | population | given | dating | just | p> A | government | survey | found | women | have | romantic | partner | p> One | Japanese< | aggregator | website | since | been | awash | stories | simply | married | lifelong | country | lowest | birth | rates | world | children | being | born | inhabitants | over | past | five | years | p> Its | million | predicted | decrease | 2060< | carried | countrys | National | Institute | Population | Social | Security | Research | also | reported | about | unmarried | want | p> In | recent | weeks | posted | Matome | Naver< | telling | case | colleague | friend | trend | coined | Kousai | zero | Nichikon: | roughly | translated | without | p> Japanese | actress | Maki | Hori | costar | Koji | Yamamoto | 2015 | after | month | p> A | column | Joshi | magazine< | last | compared | hunting | marriage | suicide | p> There | real | evidence | kousai | nichikon | taking | eastern | islands | storm | p> But | draws | parallels | mostly | defunct | omiai | arranged | tradition | parents | suggested | partners | their | adult | p> After | sexual | released | earlier | this | year | columnist | sociologist | Fukasawa< | criticized | medias | term | describe | problem: | Herbivore | men< | p> |

Thank U Very Very Much for Read this News

Japan's sex problem means people are quitting dating, marrying friends

A humanoid robot named "I-Fairy" acting as a witness at the wedding ceremony between Tomohiro Shibata and Satoko Inoue in Tokyo in 2010. The couple decided to use the robot, which conducted the ceremony with its audio functions, from Inoue's company to perform the witness' duties as they first met because of common work interest related to robots. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

The Japanese sex problem has become so desperate that its young population has given up on dating and is just marrying friends.

A government survey found 69% of Japanese men and 59% of Japanese women do not have a romantic partner.

One Japanese aggregator website has since been awash with stories of how people have simply married lifelong friends.

The country has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, with just 8.4 children being born per 1,000 inhabitants over the past five years.

Its population of 127 million people is predicted to decrease to 87 million by 2060.

The survey, carried out by the country's National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, also reported that about 80% of unmarried Japanese want to get married.

In recent weeks, people have posted stories to the aggregator website Matome Naver, telling how in one case a colleague married a friend of 10 years.

The trend has been coined "Kousai zero Nichikon": roughly translated as "marrying without dating."

Japanese actress Maki Horikita married costar Koji Yamamoto in 2015 after just a month of dating.

A column in the Joshi Spa magazine last month compared hunting for a marriage partner with suicide.

There is no real evidence that the kousai zero nichikon trend is taking the far-eastern islands by storm.

But it draws parallels with Japan's now mostly defunct omiai arranged-marriage tradition, in which parents suggested partners for their adult children.

After the sexual-partners survey was released earlier this year, columnist and sociologist Maki Fukasawa criticized the media's use of his own term to describe the sex problem: "Herbivore men."

"

| Japans | problem | means | people | quitting | dating, | marrying | friends | humanoid | robot | named | Fairy | acting | witness | wedding | ceremony | between | Tomohiro | Shibata | Satoko | Inoue | Tokyo | 2010 | couple | decided | which | conducted | with | audio | functions | from | Inoues | company | perform | duties | they | first | because | common | work | interest | related | robots | span> | REUTERS | Yuriko | Nakao< | span>< | p> The | Japanese | become | desperate | that | young | population | given | dating | just | p> A | government | survey | found | women | have | romantic | partner | p> One | Japanese< | aggregator | website | since | been | awash | stories | simply | married | lifelong | country | lowest | birth | rates | world | children | being | born | inhabitants | over | past | five | years | p> Its | million | predicted | decrease | 2060< | carried | countrys | National | Institute | Population | Social | Security | Research | also | reported | about | unmarried | want | p> In | recent | weeks | posted | Matome | Naver< | telling | case | colleague | friend | trend | coined | Kousai | zero | Nichikon: | roughly | translated | without | p> Japanese | actress | Maki | Hori | costar | Koji | Yamamoto | 2015 | after | month | p> A | column | Joshi | magazine< | last | compared | hunting | marriage | suicide | p> There | real | evidence | kousai | nichikon | taking | eastern | islands | storm | p> But | draws | parallels | mostly | defunct | omiai | arranged | tradition | parents | suggested | partners | their | adult | p> After | sexual | released | earlier | this | year | columnist | sociologist | Fukasawa< | criticized | medias | term | describe | problem: | Herbivore | men< | p> |

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Americans have been lying about the benefits of abstinence only education and the dangers of porn for decades — Quartz

Over the past few weeks, as the idea of a Trump presidency has gone from unthinkable joke to horrifying reality, I’ve heard a new term making the rounds, particularly among my friends in media. “We’re living in a post-truth era,” they tell me, citing Trump’s many lies and contradictions, the rise of fake news sites, and a growing distrust of the mainstream media as evidence that the American people are increasingly distanced from reality.

I think this is a fairly accurate assessment. But as someone who’s been writing and educating Americans about sex-related topics for over a decade, I can testify to the fact that we’ve been living in a “post-truth” era for years. Quite frankly, I’ve been dealing with a post-truth world for my entire career.

The easiest entry point for understanding America’s fuzzy relationship between sex and fact is the sad state of American sex education. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a mere 13 US states require sex education to be “medically accurate.” To put that in context, 39 states require HIV education to either stress or cover abstinence, in spite of the fact that there’s little proof that a focus on abstinence actually helps delay sex.

Indeed, America’s two-decade long love affair with abstinence-only education (which president Barack Obama has attempted to put an end to) feels like the epitome of “post-truth.” Study after study shows that abstinence-only education doesn’t reduce the rate of teen pregnancy, delay the age at which young people start having sex, or lower rates of STI transmission. But as long as telling kids not to have sex feels like the solution, these misguided lesson plans will likely persist. (In fact, it might actually get worse; president-elect Donald Trump and vice president-elect Mike Pence are not known for an enlightened outlook on sexuality. Pence once said on national television that condoms are “very, very poor protection” against STIs).

This aversion to the truth is much more than a failing of political conservatives. In my experience, liberals are just as willing to ignore the facts when it’s convenient to their larger narrative.

Over the years I’ve rolled my eyes at numerous acts of “journalism” that perpetuated half-truths and outright lies about the sex and porn industriesâ€"often in the supposed service of protecting women. >The Price of Pleasure, for exampleâ€"an anti-porn documentary created by NYU professor Chyng Sunâ€"misled many of its interview subjects and used manipulative editing to craft a vision of a ruthlessly exploitative porn industry that few porn performers recognize. A piece in The Atlantic once positioned double anal, an extreme sex act that even the most practiced porn performers need to warm up to, as a routine occurrence. And let’s not forget the New York Times’ own Nicholas Kristof, whose factually inaccurate writing has peddled numerous myths about sex work and who has positioned himself as a voice of authority in spite of numerous sex workers who’ve contested his version of the “truth.”

The topic of sex is vulnerable to this sort of misinformation for a number of reasons. It’s an intensely personal experience, and one most of us have some degree of experience with. This creates a personal sense of authorityâ€"even when we lack any facts or expertise beyond our own limited experience. Compounding this false confidence is the persistent taboo against public discussions of sexuality. Stigma around sex prevents us from openly and honestly discussing the topic, adding further fuel to the many “truthy” statements that circulate about human sexual experience.

A slumping news industry has coincided with the rise of social mediaâ€"a phenomenon that has made news consumption more individualized and created information bubbles that help reinforce what feels right over what’s actually true.While unfortunate, in this context it makes sense that we’re seeing a spread of inaccuracy in our discussions of politics, the environment, and other hot-button topics that have historically been more buffered from falsehoods than sex.

But if my work in sex education offers me a deeper understanding of the factors that encourage and enable a collective divorce from reality, it also gives me hope that post-truth isn’t a permanent state of being. If we stay committed to pursuing and promoting a reality-based vision of the world, it’s possible to overcome seemingly overwhelming odds.

On the same Tuesday that Trump secured the White House, California’s adult industry battled misinformation, ignorance, and a well-funded propaganda machine to defeat the egregious Proposition 60. Opposed by many health organizations and practically all of California’s adult film actors, the proposition would have violated worker privacy and potentially made it possible for regular Californians to sue porn producers if they believed actors weren’t wearing condoms. Around the globe, sex workers have banded together to make their voices and opinions heard, and are slowly chipping away at the post-truth ethos that’s oppressed their industry for decades (if not centuries).

And even though government-funded sex education is often mediocreâ€"if not outright harmfulâ€"a number of independent sources have harnessed the internet to provide smart, thoughtful, and fact-based sex education to young people around the globe. This is the lesson activists and politicians alike need to internalize in the age of Trump. With enough commitment, dedication, and persistence, the truth can ultimately win out.

Follow Lux on Twitter @luxalptraum. Learn how to write for Quartz Ideas. We welcome your comments at ideas@qz.com.

"

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