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Japanese Told to Work Less, Have More Sex

More kids needed

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 29, 2008 2:10 PM CST
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(Newser) – Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, thanks, health experts say, to an overworked populace too tired to have much sex. Surveys show that married Japanese couples under 50 have sex an average of 45 times a year, less than half the global average. Now some groups are calling on employers to give workers more time off to procreate, lest Japan face a huge population shortage, the Guardian reports.

Japan’s biggest business organization has urged its 1,600 member companies to give married workers more time off, while the labor ministry is working on a bill to exempt employees with young children from overtime. “It’s a question of work-life balance,” said the head of the Japan Family Planning Association. “The people who run companies need to do something about it.”

Japanese couples say they're just too busy and tired to have sex.
Japanese couples say they're just too busy and tired to have sex.   (Shutterstock)
Some companies have instituted 'family weeks,' in which married workers need permission to work past 7pm.
Some companies have instituted 'family weeks,' in which married workers need permission to work past 7pm.   (Shutterstock)
Married Japanese people need to work less, some groups have concluded, or Japan's population will plummet.
Married Japanese people need to work less, some groups have concluded, or Japan's population will plummet.   (Shutterstock)
A Japanese rescue team arrives at Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province, to assist local disaster relief efforts early Friday, May 16, 2008.
A Japanese rescue team arrives at Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province, to assist local disaster relief efforts early Friday, May 16, 2008.   (AP Photo/Kyodo News)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 6 comments
Guest
Nov 30, 2008 10:10 PM CST
Careful yourself. In fact it takes humans an average of 500 times to conceive, even less than some other animals (especially other apes), and for very good adaptive reasons. See Robin Baker's "Sperm Wars." Look, obviously overpopulation on the whole is bad. But this is a "quality of life" issue, not "environmental containment."
Guest
Nov 30, 2008 5:36 AM CST
Well I'm glad they're encouraging couples to "re-connect", but you only need to have sex once to have a baby. Japan's birth rate is so low because their use of contraception is close to 100%. Very careful people...
Mr.C
Nov 30, 2008 1:52 AM CST
Yeah, no condos on the Serengeti yet. awesome photo: http://gallery.photo.net/photo/4854177-lg.jpg

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