Japanese boys waiting longer than ever for first kiss - study

Just one in five boys at senior high school in Japan have had their first kiss, according to the Japanese Association for Sex Education - the lowest figure since the organisation's first survey of sexual behaviour among young people in 1974.

- Justin McCurry

In its latest poll, the association found girls in the same age group were also cautious, with 27.5% saying they had experienced their first kiss, compared with 22.8% of boys - down 13.6 percentage points and 11.1 points respectively since 2017.

The proportion of senior high school students - aged 15-18 - who had kissed for the first time has been declining since its 2005 peak, when one in two said they had locked lips.

The survey showed a lower percentage of affirmative answers to the kissing question than in the 2017 poll across all the surveyed age groups, which also sought responses from junior high school and university students, according to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.