Two in Three Marriages in Japan Show “Sexless” Tendency

The system developer Raison d’Etre, based in Tokyo’s Shinjuku, conducted a survey of 4,000 married people in their twenties, thirties, forties, and fifties (with 500 men and women for each age group). The survey results show that 43.9% of the respondents had “sexless” marriages and 24.3% ones that were “nearly sexless,” for a total of 68.2% who engaged in little or no sexual intercourse.

By gender and age, 51.0% of married women in their twenties are sexless or nearly sexless, and this percentage jumps to 67.8% among women in their thirties. The percentage more than doubles from 16.4% for women in their twenties to 39.2% for those in their thirties whose marriages are completely sexless. Among men as well, the percentage of those whose marriages are sexless or nearly sexless increases from 53.4% among those in their twenties to 71.4% for those in their thirties, while the percentage of men in those age groups with completely sexless marriages jumps from 25.2% to 41.8%.

When asked about the state of their marriage, 66.0% of the married couples who were not sexless described their relationship as either “good” or “fairly good,” as compared to 57.2% among the couples who tended to be sexless. Although the percentage was slightly lower for the sexless couples, it was still relatively high, at nearly 60%.

Sex is often described as the highest expression of love, but it seems that even if couples are in a sexless relationship, they can get along well with each other.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)