Minor Assignment5

Sex Education in Japan: Its Problems and Possible Solutions

Thesis statement: Although attitudes towards sex have been corrupted in today’s Japan because of the influence of informal sex information and the lack of formal sex education, this situation can be solved by teaching children the importance of morality and their active communication with the adults.


Ⅰ. Introduction
A. Background information
1. Emergence of sex education
2. “Purity Education”
3. “Student-guidance Model Education”
B. Map
C. Thesis statement

Ⅱ. Current situation
A. Change of sex experience rate
1. Increase of teenagers sex experience
2. Lowering sex experience age rate
B. Loss of sexual health
1. HIV
2. Sexually transmitted disease
C. Avoidance of contraception
1. Less condom use
2. Large number of abortion

Ⅲ. Problems
A. Overflow of sex information
1. Media
2. No limitation
B. Lack of sex education
1. School
2. Parents

Ⅳ. Possible solutions
A. Morality
1. The importance of life
2. The importance of body
B. Communication with the adults
1. Removing “taboo of sex”
2. Relationship that can talk about sex

Ⅴ. Conclusion

Ⅰ. Introduction
Sex education’s first appearance in Japan was in the 1880s, when hygiene began to improve there. With the development of hygiene, according to Fruhstuck, venereal disease mainly among soldiers and “infantile sexuality” among children were discovered accordingly. The concept of “infantile sexuality” represented as masturbation was considered harmful and the cause of other symptoms that made urban children suffer at that time. These problems led to the announcement of the necessity of sex education and this educational program became nationwide until 1908. After World War II, “Purity Education”, or abstinence-only sex education was carried out and continued until about the 1960s (26, 35-36, 55-58, 180). As Yamamoto, N explains, this education emphasized abstinence from sexual activities before marriage, especially for girls and sexual moral was really stressed. However, in the 1980s, this system shifted to “Student-guidance Model Education” by outbreaks of AIDS according to Oya. Since then, sex education in Japan has become like “AIDS prevention education”. And today’s sex education has been in the situation that cannot deal with current issues related to sexual activities or sex. In this paper, the problems of sex education in Japan will be considered. First, it will explore its current situation and analyze what problems exactly exist. Second, it will focus on basic problems by searching what elements have made current situation. Finally, it will suggest possible solutions based on the points discussed above. It is argued that although attitudes towards sex are corrupted in today’s Japan because of the influence of informal sex information and the lack of formal sex education, this situation can be solved by teaching children the importance of morality and their active communication with the adults.

Ⅱ. Current situation
It seems that attitudes towards sex have been corrupted in today’s Japan. These corruptions can be mainly seen from the two facts: change of sex experience rate and the lost of sexual health. Since the 1990s, sex experience rate has arisen suddenly, especially teenagers one as the survey from Kihara’s work shows clearly. While the third year high school students’ sex experience rate was about 20% in 1984, it went up to about 40% in 2002. Moreover, more teenagers experience sexual activities and sex experience rate has become lower nowadays. Compared to today’s fifties whose first sex experience rate in their teens was 20% or so, today’s 70% teenagers have already experienced sexual intercourse in their teens (2-10). Widmer, Treas and Newcomb’s article also describes the fact that premarital sexual activity has been naturally accepted. At the same time, there has been “the lost of sexual health” as the increasing number of HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted disease represents recently. According to Pearson, the number of HIV/AIDS has been increasing especially among junior high and high school students and its infection rates are even close to developing countries. As Kihara mentions, sexually transmitted disease such as Chlamydia infection and gonorrhea also shows sudden increase in the 1990s (38-40). In addition, a lot of teenagers do not care about the contraception. Although Yamamoto, K’s study shows people in Japan still use more condom than other countries, they use less condom compared to 10 years ago as Kihara’s survey explains 74% condom use rate in 1995 fell to 50% in 2000. Alternatively, more people have had an abortion since the late 1990s. Abortion rate became 12% nationwide in 2003 compared to 7% in 1992 (35-38, 47-49).

Ⅲ. Problems
The main reason why these situations are now happening in Japan can be said that the influence of informal sex information and the lack of formal sex education.

Ⅳ. Possible solutions
These situations can be solved by teaching children the importance of morality and their active communication with the adults.

Ⅴ. Conclusion