Japanese, South Koreans at bottom of global love life survey

Japanese people are the least satisfied with their sex and romantic lives, closely followed by South Koreans, a global survey by a French research firm showed.

A shame given all the personal beauty in these two places and how much they do and spend to cultivate it.

A waste it seems.

Probably because they’re on their phones all the time.

Perhaps Koreans and Japanese have made a conscious decision to focus on their studies, careers and hobbies over romantic pursuits?

Romance and relationships are not for everyone, and maybe Japanese and Koreans just recognise this more?

So much for all the lovey dovey sentiments of Kpop...yes hyper attention to appearances at the expense of beautiful thinking

I think the study needs to make a distinction between the dissatisfaction of relationships and sex of men and women. For better context, it would be good to see the differences in opinions of men and women. Not lump them all together.

Not surprised at all here,as you see people never displaying affection and with the introverted and must be shy culture.

Interpersonal skills and self expression goes a long way, and so does taking risks to be brave and have a go. Both Japan and South Korea have stunningly beautiful people too. I wonder what hare brained ( or lack there of! ) scheme the bureaucrats will come up for this one?

the personality of Japanese people 

Wouldn't it be a cultural thing? Humans strive for love and sex, it's in the genes. So it must be something else.

Shyness is embedded in the heads of kids since early on, and also add a society where human contact is frowned upon, while keeping everyone busy on whatever the task they have been assigned by the group.

But the truth is I look at uni students -at the peak of their youth and free time- and they seem to be not interested in any of this, with many of them thinking that dating it's too cumbersome and really not showing any drive to make contact someone special.

I can attribute this to their hypercompetitive societies. When you, at a young age, have been raised to believe that you need to be at the best in everything you do, bottle up your emotions to preserve the harmony and are overworked into oblivion, it's going to make dating take the furthest seat or even, in the trunk of your proverbial vehicle of life. I can't blame these people. Love is a luxury nowadays. Also, consider that falling in love requires one to attain certain requirements in order to be eligible for it such as money, a stable job and whole list of things.

There are always countless reasons behind human behavior that are not immediately apparent.

We tend to focus on what we know, see, and hear—relying on memory-based statistics and subjective impressions.

A testament to this complexity is the inability of any government to fully control or influence the sexual behavior of populations.

Simplistic statements, such as attributing low birth rates in Japan and South Korea to cultural traits like emotional restraint, overlook deeper factors.

One consistent reason behind low birth rates, however, is survival. When survival is uncertain, all animals, including humans, naturally reduce reproductive activities.

If the Japanese didn’t enjoy sex, there wouldn’t be love hotels around every corner. Problem is that Japanese don’t have sex to procreate… or with their spouses because it’s not cheating if it’s a financial transaction and no “love” is involved in their minds.

Probably because they’re on their phones all the time.

Also probably because they are watching boring talento variety shows.

Lots of things in the study are very interesting. I found it very interesting that in Dec 2011 both Japan and South Korea had high levels of happiness with Japan (70% happiness level) and South Korea (71% happiness level) respectively, but then went down substantially over the years to now.

Japan happiness level went down at a very steady rate from 2011 (70% happiness level) to 2024 (57% happiness level). Whereas, South Korea happiness level went down sharply from 2011 (71% happiness level) to 2017 ( 48% happiness level ) then stayed at a low happiness level from 2017 to 2024 (48% happiness level).

You really have to wonder what was the causes of the happiness levels to decline so much in Japan and South Korea.

Here is the full Ipsos study for anyone interested in reading it.

https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2024-03/Ipsos-happinessindex2024.pdf

A shame given all the personal beauty in these two places and how much they do and spend to cultivate it.

A waste it seems.

I've always loved the contradiction, girls spending hours choosing and using all those products intended for head-to-toe ..... just to go to a cafe completely by themselves, or go out with their girl friends.... walk around Shibuya or Shinsaibashi on a saturday evening, strangely rare to see any young couple holding hands, they're all with their peers.

Users are required to submit documentation proving they are legally single and sign a letter stating they are willing to get married.

An indication of the cause right there: nobody prepared to take any risks. Love is thoroughly unattractive without risk. It's not a bank transfer.

In Japan Hugs or a kiss goodbye are rarely seen. Just these small acts help to keep relationships constant and close. When you take the away physical side of a relationship the loving side often vanishes too.

Even from a young age kids are separated and not encouraged to intermingle. The vast majority of physical contact I observe when I'm out and about is between men, especially drunk men. The women are usually off to the side just standing around. When I was growing up, we all went to house parties, nightclubs, the beach, and even played sports like paddleball and basketball together. We hung out regularly after school or during summer vacation and talked with one another. That's the time when things like commenting on what she's wearing, hugging, holding hands, kissing - natural affection - start to happen. That stuff was intoxicating! I really loved and was nervous during those days but they were marvelous! I cannot remember a time when it was only boys doing something and there were no girls around. From what I've seen, very little of that happens here but that is where I started to learn about how to interact with the opposite sex. The boys here don't seem to know how to approach and talk to women and find out about feelings, likes, dislikes, and that is where the genesis of dissatisfaction starts because they've never had any real experience and don't really know how to handle those situations. That then leaves the women in a similar position.

The problem is well understood but one must measure to find a solution.

Everyone knows about the lack of babies but the government has not measured the problem and is left shooting blanks instead of putting the arrow on target.

Who are the people having kids and what characteristics are common among them? Nobody knows, so no solution can be implemented to change the behaviour of all the lonely cat ladies.

Also, consider that falling in love requires one to attain certain requirements in order to be eligible for it such as money, a stable job and whole list of things.

We need more love on the dole (!) It doesn't cost money to have a kiss and a cuddle.

(it looks like the movie is on Youtube and I'll have to watch it later)

Failing love on the dole or Gina working the diner all day, working for her man, bringing home her pay for love, for luuuurrrrrvvve, don't any of the rich folks out there fancy "a bit of rough"?

Romance has enriched my life. Way more than anything I've ever bought in a shop or on Amazon.

ipsos surveys are dicey. it lures people to take polls based on getting some reward from the companies they contract with.

hard for me to have confidence in their survey.

hmmm I don't know how accurate these surveys are. But I don't buy this. Base on what I see around me, almost everyone I know are dating. Yes the decline of population is real because couples are not financially ready to raise families. But when it comes to romance and dating, it is not really an issue here.

Well, IPSOS is based in France so that's why their surveys are not 100% reliable.

@noypikantoku

Is it money? The top 10 prefectures for fertility are all rural, mostly Kyushu, where incomes, on average are significantly lower than in Tokyo which has the lowest fertility, by a lot, in the country.

It could be overcrowding. Nobody knows as who are having kids is not being measured.

Fertility in Japan is highest in traditional prefectures where family structures are strongest and families will actively move to marry kids off and will support them when they raise kids. The enemy of fertility is individualism.

I'm not against individualism, its how I lived till I was mid thirties when I was lucky enough to find someone to settle down with. However I am far more in favour of an individualism that includes romantic relationships than individualism with no romantic relationships, which is what the story is describing. I believe, this is something I hold as a belief and not as science, that people are wired to want romance. Romance gives us an easy route to happiness.

An indication of the cause right there: nobody prepared to take any risks. Love is thoroughly unattractive without risk. It's not a bank transfer.

I disagree with this interpretation. I fully support the government providing omiai services. Unlike Tinder, the government can prove users are single. It can prove whether they are using their real name and not lying about their job, income, and a host of other things. Anyone wanting a date or sex, is welcome to use Tinder. People wanting sugar daddy stuff can use sugar daddy sites. People seriously looking for a marriage partner, which is a huge decision, are going all in emotionally and deserve protection from scammers, many of whom clearly exist. Tinder etc. have no interest whatsoever in protecting such users from scammers. They conversely facilitate such scams. For omiai, marriage is essentially a transaction, a "bank transfer" if you like. Romance may develop for an arranged marriage, but that's a bonus and not what should be expected as a right.

Well, we don't know all reasons or the main reason, but a few issues are obvious. It begins with all the idols, who are most attractive, but intouchable and out of reach. Then also we are in an era where compliments or just talking attempts are immediately counted as sexual harassments and quickly are officially handled as such and prosecuted. And of course the genders have tried or are forced to change their roles. Many women in workforce and independent also as single, while men are less paid in relation to before and cannot afford a romantic relationship or building a family nest anymore, this is maybe nice for equality activists, but all not so really helpful for both genders and society in the end. Some men in low or minimum wages jobs can't even feed themselves and fill their needs of playing around or dating, so they feel having to become quasi criminals as the yamibaito tendency clearly shows. So far for now, those issues count already for most of the reason, why there are such big problems with dating, romance, and low numbers of marriages and childbirths.

There are plenty of differences between living in Tokyo and living in Kyushu. The government needs to measure the differences to understand a solution. It could be related to the hours of time high school aged kids spend at juku or the social isolation of living in Tokyo or access to low cost fresh food in Kyushu or living near forests and beaches. Do young people who attend the funerals of old people on their street have more kids? People in Kyushu work far fewer hours than people in Tokyo do. Does living in Kyushu allow more car ownership, creating more independence?

The amount of husbands and wives even, going to third parties and treating them better is probably a big factor. “It’s embarrassing to say I love you, bring gifts, initiate romance other than just saying wanna do it” are all things can contribute to it and more. Watching guys convey all these feelings and gifts to kabakura or fuzoku people, but unable to just give your wife flowers and kiss… yeah I would cut them off too

Lots of things in the study are very interesting. I found it very interesting that in Dec 2011 both Japan and South Korea had high levels of happiness with Japan (70% happiness level) and South Korea (71% happiness level) respectively, but then went down substantially over the years to now.

In 2012 someone came to power in Japan, then proceeded to heavily alter the fabric of Jpn society with his policies which favored the elite until his demise very recently (the basic policies live on, which may explain why his party was dumped on in the last election).

Maybe it's my imagination but it seems a lot of Japanese men don't communicate well with the opposite sex.

A reflection of this trend is evident down here in Numazu, where I've noticed a good deal of the young men are all in love with Anime idols, especially Aquors:

https://love-live.fandom.com/wiki/Aqours

It's a common site to see the boys hanging out together at famous anime locations clutching their favorite character dolls. No women in sight. On one hand, it's good that these Otaku are out of their rooms and engaging with people and getting some sunshine. On the other hand, it's pretty weird that they focus on Anime dolls.

My eureka moment! Now I know why the birthrate is so low in both countries.

I think the P4P industry in Japan is just too good and affordable for men. Why would they choose to be tied down with the cost and confinement of sexless monogamous relationships?

A month ago I was walking past Nagoya dome when some Johnny's band finished a concert.

Must have been 20,000 people hit the street.

All dressed up, Saturday night.

I remember noticing there wasn't one couple to be seen.

And probably it didn't even enter 90% of them to be trying to get some.

And of course their choice, but sterile in so many ways.

I expect downvotes, but I was not surprised. Japanese, both men and women, are very very materialistic, most of them spend money and effort on their outer appearance but are unable to manage relationships or are not interested in relationships. The number of men and women who get married just because it is what society expects, without love and real romantic interest is incredibly high. I was surprised, during my first years in Japan, by the amount of married couples inside the same workplace. Colleagues get married because they want to get married but do not have time or interest in finding a partner. Just take a look at the huge amount of marriage agencies, or events such as machikon/konkatsu party/etc. Not only romantic relationships. Also concerning friendships, most of them perceive friendship just as meeting other people to drink and eat together.

I am not saying that all japanese are such type of person, but the majority of them have the abovementioned idea of romance, and even if they do not like it are accustomed to it.

Figtho!: "Perhaps Koreans and Japanese have made a conscious decision to focus on their studies, careers and hobbies over romantic pursuits?"

The survery is about levels of dissatisfaction with love and sex life, not that they don't need/want it and therefore are satisfied. Nice try at spin, though.

"Romance and relationships are not for everyone, and maybe Japanese and Koreans just recognise this more?"

Yeah... half the population? And yet those same people, which this article even touches on, look into dating apps because they simply cannot muster up the courage to figure it out themselves. Anyway, there is plenty of loving going on between Japanese/Korean and foreign spouses, and many Japanese have said it's one reason why they have left Japan (besides that garbage economy). And hey, who would want to raise kids in such a terrible economy anyway, and with no bright future for Japan ahead, and next year Japan is predicted to slip to fifth or sixth in leading economies.

kohakuebisu: "People wanting sugar daddy stuff can use sugar daddy sites."

You're saying people who engage in Omiai are not looking for "sugar daddy"? Hogwash. One of the first things a man has to do with Omiai is provide proof of income, and in all cases I have heard from he is rejected if it is too low. Now, you can call that "looking for financial stability" if you please, but that is no different than women who marry a man solely for his money (or even vice-versa). True, there are those who want more than just that, but there are many who don't care as long as they DO have just that. Omiai seems to work well because we don't hear about when it doesn't, but while I've met a few couples who have had long, happy marriages through omiai, I have met many, MANY more who are downright miserable, assuming they haven't already divorced. I'm not saying marrying for love has a higher "success" rate, I'm just saying Omiai doesn't necessarily have one either, especially in this day and age when all young people want is money.

You can do omiai to marry a rich man, but that's gold digging. What some seem to forget is that you've actually got to marry the guy and be with him.

Sugar daddy is dating (sleeping with) rich man occasionally for money that is paid every time. Unless he is ridiculously naive, the daddy will know the woman is only meeting him for money. The daddy is also free to meet as many other women as he wants. If a guy does that to a gold digger he's married, he's looking at a very expensive divorce.

Its the same old story, overworked and under loved equals an empty household and a lack of family. Who could or would want to bring a child into that? Until things change and young professionals are allowed to live their lives again, the cycle will only continue.

I think a few issues causing this are social media, which I think is more toxic for society than any good it produces. Modernism is also an issue. This Modern technological world is a very shallow and materialistic society where people care more about meaningless stuff instead of relationships and family, it is very shallow and empty. Lastly radical feminism is a big problem as well. These issues are not just affecting Japan and South Korea but most of the world.

The trajectory that human civilization is on is not sustainable and there will be a very violent correction that will occur a matter of when not if. I actually think we are already starting to see it forming with the wars happening around the world now with major powers involved, the economic issues on the horizon, the climate, and the demographic collapse that will be hitting most countries in a few decades.

People are saying Western culture is superior and Asian is inferior.

I watched a short YouTube documentary by a news outlet on Japan's declining birth rate. They interviewed a couple of Japanese women that live in Tokyo. One woman said that she was not interested in getting into a relationship because she would likely have to change her lifestyle. However, she would consider getting into a relationship if she didn't have to change her lifestyle, her life improved, and the guy had a driver's license. I thought the driver's license part was funny. Lol.