Pampers diapers, a product distributed by Procter & Gamble, is pictured on sale at a Ralphs grocery store in Pasadena, California January 21, 2014. Procter & Gamble Co, the world's largest household products maker, reported lower quarterly profit on Janua
Pampers diapers, a product distributed by Procter & Gamble, is pictured on sale at a Ralphs grocery store in Pasadena, California January 21, 2014. Procter & Gamble Co, the world's largest household products maker, reported lower quarterly profit on January 24, 2013, hurt by unfavorable currency movements and lower gross profit margin. Picture taken January 21, 2014. Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

Nappy sales are a good barometer or indicator if people in a country are having enough sex. Or perhaps, to be more specific, making babies.

Confirming that theory is Japan, where the number of babies born in 2012 was at its lowest on any year in record at 1,037,101. In 2015, the number even dipped to 1,008,000, while deaths was higher at 1,302,000, for a net loss of almost 300,000 Japanese. At the rate Japan’s current population of 126 million is shrinking, it is projected to contract by one-third to about 84.5 million by 2060.

That same year, sales of adult nappies in 2012 outpaced that of baby pampers for the first time, reports The Guardian. It implies that there are more Japanese growing older and needing to use disposable diapers because of incontinence – a sign of aging – than babies being born and needing nappies for their first few years until they get toilet trained.

The trend worries Kunio Kitamura, head of the Japan Family Planning Association (JFPA), that Japan could head into extinction as a growing number of young people lost interest in dating, getting married and having sex – although not necessarily in that order. For single women, marriage and babies mean ending their careers.

Some Japanese are still having sex, but not for procreation purposes. It is the instant noodle variety that involves one-night stands, flirting, online porn, virtual reality girlfriends and anime cartoons. Some men do not get sexually excited unless they watch female robots on games like “Power Rangers,” that Aoyoma, a professional dominatrix, even has to guide them into the naked female body.

Many Japanese cannot relate to the opposite gender, resulting in 13 million single adults who still live with their parents, 3 million of whom are above 35 years old. A 2011 survey found that 61 percent of unmarried men and 49 percent of women in the age group 18 to 34 were not in any kind of relationship. A new survey by the JFPA, released in 2016, confirmed that 45 percent Japanese women aged 16 to 24 were not interested, or even despised sexual contact.

To address Japan’s demographic crisis, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced in September a plan to increase the country’s fertility rate to 1.8 children per woman from the current 1.4. But it is an ambitious, if not delusional goal, says Richard Jackson, president of the Global Aging Institute, a nonprofit research group.

Jackson blames Japan’s baby crisis on its workplace culture in which to advance in one’s career, an employee as to stay late every night and then drink afterward with the boss, leaving no time for couples to have sex. It is also a difficult situation for couples with young children as few daycare centers remain open until 11 pm and few young families are rich enough to afford a nanny, reports Techinsider.

He suggest that Japan should follow the flexible labor model of the US where part-time work abound and people Nappy sales are a good barometer or indicator if people in a country are having enough sex. Or perhaps, to be more specific, making babies.

Confirming that theory is Japan, where the number of babies born in 2012 was at its lowest on any year in record at 1,037,101. In 2015, the number even dipped to 1,008,000, while deaths was higher at 1,302,000, for a net loss of almost 300,000 Japanese. At the rate Japan’s current population of 126 million is shrinking, it is projected to contract by one-third to about 84.5 million by 2060.

That same year, sales of adult nappies in 2012 outpaced that of baby pampers for the first time, reports The Guardian. It implies that there are more Japanese growing older and needing to use disposable diapers because of incontinence – a sign of aging – than babies being born and needing nappies for their first few years until they get toilet trained.

The trend worries Kunio Kitamura, head of the Japan Family Planning Association (JFPA), that Japan could head into extinction as a growing number of young people lost interest in dating, getting married and having sex – although not necessarily in that order. For single women, marriage and babies mean ending their careers.

Some Japanese are still having sex, but not for procreation purposes. It is the instant noodle variety that involves one-night stands, flirting, online porn, virtual reality girlfriends and anime cartoons. Some men do not get sexually excited unless they watch female robots on games like “Power Rangers,” that Aoyoma, a professional dominatrix, even has to guide them into the naked female body.

Many Japanese cannot relate to the opposite gender, resulting in 13 million single adults who still live with their parents, 3 million of whom are above 35 years old. A 2011 survey found that 61 percent of unmarried men and 49 percent of women in the age group 18 to 34 were not in any kind of relationship. A new survey by the JFPA, released in 2016, confirmed that 45 percent Japanese women aged 16 to 24 were not interested, or even despised sexual contact.

To address Japan’s demographic crisis, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced in September a plan to increase the country’s fertility rate to 1.8 children per woman from the current 1.4. But it is an ambitious, if not delusional goal, says Richard Jackson, president of the Global Aging Institute, a nonprofit research group.

Jackson blames Japan’s baby crisis on its workplace culture in which to advance in one’s career, an employee as to stay late every night and then drink afterward with the boss, leaving no time for couples to have sex. It is also a difficult situation for couples with young children as few daycare centers remain open until 11 pm and few young families are rich enough to afford a nanny, reports Techinsider.

He suggest that Japan should follow the flexible labor model of the US where part-time work abound and people could go back to school, study online and start a new career that would be less demanding on their time and allow more work-life balance to leave enough room for making babies and prevent Japan’s ticking population bomb from exploding.could go back to school, study online and start a new career that would be less demanding on their time and allow more work-life balance to leave enough room for making babies and prevent Japan’s ticking population bomb from exploding.

RELATED STORIES