Japan has a worrying number of virgins, government finds • Hacker News Board

Re: Japan has a worrying number of virgins, government finds

#61

Post by wott » Sat, Sep 17, 2016, 7:25 PM UTC

scythe wrote: post #26

What is concerning is this: >Most people surveyed said they want to get married at some point. This isn't delineated by gender, so I interpret it as meaning that Japanese men and women both want to get married -- but they aren't enough for each other. >A booming industry surrounds Japan's growing condition of loneliness, a phenomenon at once quite particular to the Japanese, yet also a glimpse into a future where man…

> Japan's population has been in decline for forty years

Uh? Japans's population has stabilised during the last 15 years, and it was growing for the previous 25 years (like +15 millions).

Re: Japan has a worrying number of virgins, government finds

#62

Post by feklar » Sat, Sep 17, 2016, 7:25 PM UTC

M_Grey wrote: post #49

mangecoeur wrote: post #47

Perhaps the darker side that could be missed is that despite their demographic problem, Japan continues to refuse to let in more young foreigners in to help balance the demographics.

Japan isn't going to change in that regard anytime soon. They'd definitely rather have less Japanese people, and have them still be what they consider "Japanese" enough. Japan has many wonderful aspects to it, but the racism and nationalism are not part of them.

I remember reading an article about AirBnB breaking into Japan, where the local resistance wasn't the usual complaints of limiting the monthly rental supply therefore jacking up rental rates, but that AirBnB 'encouraged more foreigners to come here'. To get rid of foreigners, Japan puts up so many blocks and delays to permanent residency they hope you get the message and choose to leave.

Re: Japan has a worrying number of virgins, government finds

#63

Post by coldtea » Sat, Sep 17, 2016, 7:25 PM UTC

NumberCruncher wrote: post #39

f_allwein wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but virginity is an interesting part of the issue: > Around 42 percent of men and 44.2 percent of women admitted that they were virgins this seems quite high, although I haven't compared it to data from other countries. Are Japanese people having less sex? And if so, why?

I am not a Japan-expert but I remember seeing a documentary about young Japan couples renting sex-hotel rooms on hourly basis, because they have no other place to get intimate. It's quite hard to loose your virginity and get pregnant when your family is watching...

>It's quite hard to loose your virginity and get pregnant when your family is watching..

A teenager in the US (or most other places for that matter) would have saved to rent a Waldorf Astoria suite if that was the only way to get their game on...

Re: Japan has a worrying number of virgins, government finds

#64

Post by coldtea » Sat, Sep 17, 2016, 7:30 PM UTC

nsaslideface wrote: post #60

Why is population decline from the current levels inherently bad again?

Because it kills the economy and forward momentum of a society, puts a huge burden on public health and other services, creates a elderly society with less "new blood" innovation in ideas and politics that stifles the (fewer) young people, and beyond some point it's not even reversible without the country falling many places in GDP and standards of living.

Re: Japan has a worrying number of virgins, government finds

#65

Post by Roboprog » Sat, Sep 17, 2016, 7:30 PM UTC

finid wrote: post #22

abstractbeliefs wrote: post #4

Before we get into a huge discussion about virginity, it's worth noting that the government isn't actually worried about it. They're worried about fertility rates. Virgins sell more papers though, so lets get that clickbait going.

Well, if people are not banging, that would affect fertility rates too. So in a sense, there's some relationship between the two.

p = 0, I believe :-)

Re: Japan has a worrying number of virgins, government finds

#66

Post by detaro » Sat, Sep 17, 2016, 7:31 PM UTC

nsaslideface wrote: post #60

Why is population decline from the current levels inherently bad again?

Population decline in general isn't necessarily bad. Demographics highly skewed towards old people are problematic though, and if nothing is killing off old people that's what you get when birth rates go down.

Re: Japan has a worrying number of virgins, government finds

#67

Post by unsignedint » Sat, Sep 17, 2016, 7:32 PM UTC

mcphage wrote: post #55

hasenj wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who is going to take care of the baby? Also, returning to work probably means no intention of having another baby any time soon.

If only there was an industry of trained professionals whose only job was taking care of children...

There is a serious shortage there, too. And even if working parents do have access to it, it won't go beyond usual hours (e.g. like 6PM) and it won't help them much if they are expected a lot longer than that.

Re: Japan has a worrying number of virgins, government finds

#68

Post by coldtea » Sat, Sep 17, 2016, 7:33 PM UTC

mangecoeur wrote: post #47

Perhaps the darker side that could be missed is that despite their demographic problem, Japan continues to refuse to let in more young foreigners in to help balance the demographics.

They don't want any random fix of their demographics where they just bring in young people of whatever nationality. They want a Japanese fix to their demographics.

If they viewed people as just interchangeable culturally, why even care about their falling demographics? Other Asian and Africans countries make up for them.

Re: Japan has a worrying number of virgins, government finds

#69

Post by honkhonkpants » Sat, Sep 17, 2016, 7:35 PM UTC

krapp wrote: post #51

honkhonkpants wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting perspective. Defeat was the consequence of having started the war in the first place. Nobody in America was sitting around in 1941 thinking up ways to vaporize Japanese people. As they say on the Internet: play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

It wouldn't surprise me if some Japanese viewed the atomic bombings as an unwarranted act of unprovoked aggression - and they may not be entirely unjustified if they do. From their point of view, it probably seemed as if the US had already won and just decided to spike the football.

Yeah, unprovoked? That belies a lack of historical perspective.

Japan killed tens of millions of Chinese and intended to occupy the entire western Pacific, killing or enslaving all the people who lived there. The entire nation, all of its labor and industry, was bent toward this goal. It was a nation of profound evil.

Re: Japan has a worrying number of virgins, government finds

#70

Post by seanmcdirmid » Sat, Sep 17, 2016, 7:39 PM UTC

honkhonkpants wrote: post #69

krapp wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wouldn't surprise me if some Japanese viewed the atomic bombings as an unwarranted act of unprovoked aggression - and they may not be entirely unjustified if they do. From their point of view, it probably seemed as if the US had already won and just decided to spike the football.

Yeah, unprovoked? That belies a lack of historical perspective. Japan killed tens of millions of Chinese and intended to occupy the entire western Pacific, killing or enslaving all the people who lived there. The entire nation, all of its labor and industry, was bent toward this goal. It was a nation of profound evil.

It's not like China didn't do that in its past either, probably as recently as qianlong. But they don't go around calling China a nation of profound evil at the time.