Over 317,000 people from 41 countries around the world took part in the ninth Durex Global Sex Survey, and the results of this were released in December 2005.

The survey covered 18 wide-ranging topics, including:-

• Age to first receive sex education
• Age of first intercourse
• Incidence of unprotected sex
• Areas that need greater public awareness
• Areas governments should invest in
• Ways to raise awareness on safer sex

The survey indicates that attitudes towards, for example, sex, sex education, and safer sex, widely differ and that large gaps remain among what people say they want, practice, and what governments provide.

Japanese interviewees indicated that their age of first sex education was 12.5 years, while the age at which they wished to first receive it was 11.5 years.

43% of Japanese respondents said they had unprotected sex without knowing the partner’s sexual history, with 16% saying that they had contracted an STI. Yet, 83% said that there should be more public awareness on HIV/AIDS.

Out of the 41 countries’ respondents reply to “I do not have a high sex drive,” 16% of Japanese said this was true, second only to China at 17%. This reflected in “Frequency of sex,” where Japan came last at 45 times a year, compared to China at 96, a global average of 103, and Greece at 138 times per year. This figure for Japan is glaringly reflected in the record low birthrate that is confounding all political and social efforts to increase it.

Full details of the Durex survey can be found at http://www.durex.com/cm/gss2005results.asp