The Sex Files, Part IV

Daily Telegraph:

A new study by Dr. Kunio Kitamura has revealed that more than one third of all couples in Japan have effectively given up on sex, with most complaining they are too tired after work or that it is "boring."

"The results are a surprise because the numbers keep going up each year," said Dr. Kitamura.

In 2004, 32 per cent of Japanese admitted to not having sexual intercourse in the previous month. That number has now risen to 37 per cent, according to a report that will be presented to the Ministry of Health and Welfare next year.

"Of course, if people are not having sex then there will be fewer children," Dr. Kitamura said.

Japan's birth rate stood at 1.34 in 2007, far below the replenishment rate of 2.08 babies that is required for a stable population.

The country's population, which peaked at around 127.7 million in 2006, is predicted to decline to 95 million by 2050. And if drastic measures to encourage people to have more sex and more children don't succeed then there will be a mere 47.7 million Japanese at the turn of the next century.

A fix:

Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Keidanren, Japan's biggest business organization, is worried the nation's workers aren't having enough sex.

The group urged its 1,632 member companies to start so- called family weeks that give employees more time for playing with the kids and having more children to reverse a declining birth rate. A survey by Japan's Family Planning Association of about 3,000 married people under age 49 shows couples are having less sex because long work days leave them with too little energy.

In a country where people over 65 will outnumber children two-to-one in five years, companies say they eventually won't have enough workers. Japan's birth rate has been falling since 1972 and threatens to shrink the labor force 16 percent by 2030 from 66.6 million workers in 2006, according to the health ministry.

``You must go home early,'' Nippon Oil Corp. President Shinji Nishio told staff in a speech for the company's two-week family campaign, which ends Nov. 22. ``The dwindling birthrate and the aging population, along with the responsibility of educating the next generation -- these aren't just somebody else's problem. We expect all workers' active participation.''