| Japan's huge number of sexless marriages would suggest that
when it comes to being amorous, couples are doing diddlysquat.
Well, if what's being said in Shukan Jitsuwa (6/24) is correct, the "diddle" part, at least, is right.
Japan is, according to the men's weekly, quickly being filled
by pairs who shun connubials in favor of putting on a show
of their own in front of a partner who's more than likely
doing the same thing.
And most of these "masturbation mates" are apparently young
couples in their 20s and 30s.
"It's been about two years since my marriage went sexless.
It started when my wife got a job and we were both working.
I didn't come home till late and my wife left early. Whenever
she tried to initiate anything, I'd always be too tired and
she'd get mad at me. I had no choice but to start taking my
own sexual frustrations into hand, so to speak. While I was
continuing with my self-employment, I was surprised to learn
that my wife had been doing the same thing," a 25-year-old
real estate agent tells Shukan Jitsuwa. "My wife would
wait for me to go to sleep, then whip out her little pink
vibrator and complete her deed. When we both realized what
we were doing, we started to Onanize together so we could
'ascend to Heaven' at the same time."
A 30-year-old housewife admits her marriage is at a similar
stage.
"My husband suffers from stress-induced impotence, so I used
a catalog order to buy myself a pinch hitter in the form of
a insertable vibrator. It didn't bring me anywhere near the
problems that sex with my husband did. I never had to worry
about my vibrator going soft and, as long as I had batteries,
it was available 24 hours a day," she says. "But, when my
husband saw me using the vibrator, he suddenly went ramrod.
Yet, whenever we tried to do something together, he'd just
wilt again. We figured that rather than try and continue with
something that wasn't obviously working, we'd settle for what
was working well and do it together."
Modern demands are contributing to the proliferation of partners
packing their palms. Layoffs have become common in the Japanese
workforce. The more middle-age workers axed, the greater the
burdens of companies have fallen on the shoulders of younger
generations. Lower wages have also led to an increase in working
couples, leaving the country packed with people who're too
tired mentally and physically to be bothered with bonking.
But, rather than leading to divorce, sexless marriages appear
to be opening the door for mutual masturbation to become a
stimulant.
"'Happening bars,' where you go and get drunk then have sex
with other willing customers, are popping up all over the
country. It's really common to see masturbating men and women
in these places having climactic battles. You'll get young
salarymen boast of their prowess to young women, who'll willingly
watch while he wanks," a writer on the adult entertainment
industry says. "At 'happening bars' that attract a considerable
regular female clientele, it's not uncommon to see a sloshed
young woman playing the banjo in front of a group of male
onlookers."
While the proponents of the practice may be pleased, experts
aren't quite so sure.
"What we're seeing is undoubtedly an adverse effect of the
virtual reality world," doctor and writer Mitsugu Shiga says.
"Thanks to personal computers, young people nowadays can get
whatever they want in a sexual context. Personal computers
give them access to photos with the genitals fully exposed,
as well as to hardcore movies. If they want a love doll or
masturbation goods, they only need to access a site that sells
them online. They can satisfy their sexual desires entirely
through the Internet. But, being caught up in the two-dimensional
world can also create techno-stress and weaken emotions. That
can weaken relations with real women and make sex too much
of a hassle."
It's not just guys who're at fault. Excessive demands are
making women turn to themselves to relieve sexual frustrations,
too.
"Sex is something the brain feels, so living in today's society
can destroy a woman's mental and physical balance and make
it difficult for them to achieve orgasm. Catalog sales of
vibrators are currently selling like hotcakes because so many
women can't find a guy to satisfy them. If a woman becomes
used to a vibrator, they can provide feelings far more intense
than any real man is capable of and lead the woman to decide
that masturbation is a far more attractive alternative," pshrink
Shiga tells Shukan Jitsuwa. "Women today are also more
selfish than their predecessors. They don't want to have kids.
If that's the case, masturbation is also more attractive than
sex because there's no risk of pregnancy. Japan is the only
country in the world where you see this phenomenon of couples
shunning sex in favor of jacking off together."
WaiWai stories are transcriptions of articles that
originally appeared in Japanese language publications. The
Mainichi Daily News cannot be held responsible for the contents
of the original articles, nor does it guarantee their accuracy.
Views expressed in the WaiWai column are not necessarily those
held by the Mainichi Daily News or Mainichi Newspapers Co.
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