January 2, 2025 Japanese High School Boys are Waiting for Their First Kiss Youth intimacy declines in Japan as self-pleasure rises By Anna Brage Stevens First crushes, confusing young romance or maybe an awkward (and way too wet) first kiss—that’s what many teenagers traditionally associate with high school. But in Japan, these experiences are shifting, as intimacy and relationships are falling out of fashion among today’s youth. According to a new survey from the Japan Association for Sex Education (JASE), today’s teens are rewriting the rulebook on intimacy.
A record-low number of high school boys have experienced their first kiss—only about one-fifth—marking the lowest rate recorded in the national survey since 1974. The age for first sexual encounters also continues to dip and more students than ever are skipping relationships altogether. The survey suggests that physical closeness is being swapped for self-reliance—and this isn’t just a quirky Gen Z shift; it’s a shift that could play a determining role in Japan’s future.
Intimacy on Hold The familiar “firsts” that once marked the teenage years are no longer urgent milestones for today’s Japanese youth. While some point to stricter parenting or the lure of a digital world for reasoning, something more profound seems to be at play. Tamaki Kawasaki, a sociology lecturer at Rikkyo University, suggests that today’s teens aren’t avoiding relationships—they’re simply rethinking the role relati.
