Japan: Sex- and relationship phobia is gripping the country

[opebo]

I suppose the main issue here is the 'fear' of marriage and the patriarichal view of men's and women's roles in the family and the workplace as stifiling individuality and harming men and women who don't want that burden of expectation.

Good lord, what nonsense.  Japanese society is a wreck, and the reasons are not due to 'patriarchy'.

[opebo]

What do you think the reason is, opebo? (Part of me can't believe I'm asking you this but... )

Definitely something wrong with the culture, but its not the patriarchal aspect that has messed up their gonad-brain linkup.  Probably something about the crushing weight of the conservative heirarchical confucion or whatever it is culture and the utter lack of economic progress or sense of 'personal progress' for the young.

[opebo]

The patriarchy is one of the most idiotic and overused buzzword of the 2010s. But it doesn't change, that this is one of the few times the people using it are completely correct. The Japanese problem with low birth rates and people who don't want to marry is a result of the conservative attitudes to marriage, which dominate in Japan, and if people don't think that lack of interest in long term relationships affect short term relationships, they're naive.

Well, long term relationships, burdening a man, and reproducing appear to be women's incentives for providing sex.  If those longer term goals are largely shut out due to poor economics or whatever, there is little incentive for them to engage in short term relations (sex).

One does still see a fair number of Japanese sex tourists here, and I believe quite a few more in the Philippines, but really not that many considering what a large, rich, and terribly hard-up country it is.

[opebo]

Showing off a bit there Nathan, but seems sound.  However, the culture of drinking and patriarchy and all worked ok in the past - isn't what's really changed the complete lack of economic opportunity for the young men?

[opebo]

Showing off a bit there Nathan, but seems sound.  However, the culture of drinking and patriarchy and all worked ok in the past - isn't what's really changed the complete lack of economic opportunity for the young men?

Leaving aside for a moment your claim that the culture of drinking and patriarchy and all was ever more than superficially 'okay'...yes, pretty much.

I meant 'OK' in the sense of not impeding reproduction to any demographically dangerous degree.

[opebo]

Showing off a bit there Nathan, but seems sound.  However, the culture of drinking and patriarchy and all worked ok in the past - isn't what's really changed the complete lack of economic opportunity for the young men?

Patriarchal attitudes compound lack of economic opportunity. Men feel emasculated as they are unable to fulfill their tradition gender role of "breadwinning economic warriors" (a nice phrase from the article). And so rather than try and fail to fit in to that archetype, they reject it completely and rebel against it.

Yes, fair enough.  But the real problem is capitalism.

[opebo]

'burdening a man'? I'm really wondering what happened to make you such a bitter misogynist.

Nothing in particular happened, and there's nothing about what I'm saying that is misogynistic, Gustaf.  Just observing the dreary old world around me.  You may see more clearly when you're older (I used to get the stuff thrown at me now and again when I was a youth, and I'll admit it can be confusing).

[opebo]

In fact, it seems to me that the world is a better place when Japanese people stop reproducing and focus on cars, cameras, and electronics.

There won't be enough of them to focus on anything except running the old folks home if this keeps up angus. 

Sheesh, bad as they are, the Jap..... anese are a useful counterbalance to the Chinese.  We don't want them just dying off into nothing.  What would we do, repopulate the place with Filipinos?  Real useful.

[opebo]

...I'd imagine that they'll perfect ultra-clean, coitus-free reproduction before anyone else does.  In tiny portions with a little bowl miso soup on the side.

The article didn't specify, but I'll wager the male Japanese is still producing his daily 'little bowl of miso soup' same as before, he's just doing it on his own now.

[opebo]

In Bangkok they always say about the Japanese - '3 inches, 3 minutes, 3,000 baht'.

[opebo]

I don't get it. I understand the part about not wanting to marry but why no hookups?

面倒臭い

Sheesh, nobody understands that crap, Nathan.

Cory, the women aren't interested in hookups with guys with no future.  There is still a little bit of a prostitution industry in Japan - more anyway than in the Bad Place - but still a shadow of its former self. 

[opebo]

Sheesh, nobody understands that crap, Nathan.

Cory, the women aren't interested in hookups with guys with no future.  There is still a little bit of a prostitution industry in Japan - more anyway than in the Bad Place - but still a shadow of its former self. 

Why not? That seems to defy the norms here, but again I say that from a Western perspective where individualistic temporary pleasure is seen as sacrosanct.

I don't know why not, Cory.  I think they may be quite open to such things when they're in college, but other than that one doesn't see much of it.