"If young people's aversion to sex continues to increase at the present rate, the situation of Japan's low fertility rate and rapid ageing will rapidly worsen. ... The Japanese economy will lose its vitality even more than now. If this happens, this nation might eventually perish into extinction."

This startling prediction was made by Kunio Kitamura in a book published last year by Media Factory. Dr. Kitamura, an obstetrician and gynecologist who runs his own family planning clinic in Tokyo, is the author of more than a dozen books on reproduction and sexual health. Now, with "Sekkusugirai na Wakamonotachi" ("Young People Averse to Sex"), he has shown that Japanese young people are turning off sex and that this is bound to have dire consequences for the nation.

Let's get right down to the statistical basics.