WEIRD SEX IN JAPAN: S&M, SUBWAY MOLESTORS AND EYEBALL LICKING?

WEIRD SEX IN JAPAN

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used panty vending machine
Sex shops and vending machines in Japan even sell the used panties of school girls, along with crotch shot of the girl, and sometimes even some of their saliva and a cassette recording of their moaning. The saliva, panties and recording are sold in small canisters with girl's picture on it. Some vendors are reportedly even collecting samples of menstrual fluid for their customers. There are also stories of women buying the men’s soiled underwear.The practice of selling used schoolgirl panties from vending machines was outlawed in the mid 1990s, around the same time Japan's Ministry of Education made a formal announcement urging schoolgirls to stop selling their panties to fetishists.

Image rooms are brothels where men indulge themselves in various fantasy situations, such as groping a woman in a crowded subway and getting oral sex inside a fancy car, with a prostitute. There is even an image room with facsimile toilet, which men can slide under and have a prostitutes urinate on their face.

Image rooms came into existence in the late 1980s. Sexual intercourse is generally not allowed. As part of the "costume play" women employees will dress up like school girls (complete with loose socks), nurses, waitresses, belly dancers, cheerleaders, science fiction characters, and even policewomen. As part of the "baby play" the customers are dressed up in diapers and entertained with lullabies, rattles and teething rings by the employee. Breast feeding costs extra.

S-and-M clubs are also relatively common. Customers can enjoy both masochism and sadism with devises such as ropes, handcuffs, leather whips, vibrators, "penis bands," tubes, and thigh-high stiletto-heeled leather boots. The mostly male clientele include salarymen, bureaucrats and company presidents. A place in Yokohama called "It's Bully" specializes in catering to customers who want be verbally abused. In regular S-and-M clubs, “joosamas” ("queens"), Japanese slang for a dominatrixs, charge up to $200 an hour to provide their services.

Sadism and Masochism in Japan

Yoshiro Hatano, Ph.D. and Tsuguo Shimazaki wrote in the Encyclopedia of Sexuality: It is well-known that sadism and masochism (S&M) have been taken up in Japan’s literature and paintings. A number of works by Seiu Ito on the subject of shibari (bondage) are famous examples. One depicts a woman being tortured while a drooling jailer looks on in delight. Another shows a naked woman suspended upside down, while under her an old man is enjoying a drink of saki. These are typical of Seiu Ito’s works. Of course, works such as these are not part of Japan’s mainstream literature or paintings, but rather are learned of only in the quiet mania of the back streets. [Source: Yoshiro Hatano, Ph.D. and Tsuguo Shimazaki Encyclopedia of Sexuality, 1997 ++]

“It is uncertain how many people are interested in this type of sadism and masochism today, but their numbers are not few. Roughly ten thousand magazines dealing in S&M are thought to be sold each month, by which one could estimate the number of interested people to be perhaps two or three times that number. ++

“On the other hand, in the Japanese media’s typical fashion of trying to stimulate the reader’s interest, some minor weekly magazines print photographs or articles that depict situations with a sadistic mistress and a masochistic man. Naturally, most of these depictions are contrived, as people who really practice S&M do so in secret, hidden from public view. Both Tokyo and Osaka have nightclubs in their busiest night spots that make money off of S&M. Still, experts say that the people who go to such places probably realize it is all just an act.” ++

Incest in Japan

Yoshiro Hatano, Ph.D. and Tsuguo Shimazaki wrote in the Encyclopedia of Sexuality: According to Japanese myth, Izanami and Izanagi, the god and goddess couple credited with creating the islands that make up Japan, were in fact siblings who then married. Also, many stories have been handed down from the fourth and fifth centuries concerning consanguineous marriages (incest) in Japan’s Ruling Family (thought by some to be the ancestors of today’s Imperial Family, but this is uncertain). However, since that time, incest has been taboo and avoided in Japan, as in the Christian spheres of America and Europe. [Source: Yoshiro Hatano, Ph.D. and Tsuguo Shimazaki Encyclopedia of Sexuality, 1997 ++]

Yet, reports of incest between a mother and son have become a phenomenon in the last few decades. Such reports have come mostly from volunteer groups that provide counseling over the telephone. Frequent situations in the reports include: 1) a mother who sees her son masturbating in his bedroom and begins helping him, which leads to sexual intercourse; and 2) a boy in a stupor or irritated from studying for exams who is embraced by his mother, who feels sorry for him, leading to sexual intercourse. Many psychologists hypothesize that the anonymous nature of the telephone counseling may result in calls that provide an outlet for the expression of fantasies peculiar to young people. However, there is no reason to totally discount the findings from this counseling method. We look forward with great anticipation to future surveys and studies. ++

Sexually Violent Fantasies in Comic Books

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oddly-named sex club
Yoshiro Hatano, Ph.D. and Tsuguo Shimazaki wrote in the Encyclopedia of Sexuality: A contribution to a local newspaper in the summer of 1990 complaining that the contents of comic books had become grossly obscene sparked debate between freedom of expression in Japanese comic books and the negative influence these magazines have on young people. This debate has grown into a major social issue. It is certainly true that a great many scenes in the comic books read by young boys and girls would trouble sensible adults. It should be noted that the authors or publishers of these comics have exercised self-imposed control concerning sexually explicit matter. However, there has been apparently no control from either party in limiting scenes containing violence. [Source: Yoshiro Hatano, Ph.D. and Tsuguo Shimazaki Encyclopedia of Sexuality, 1997 ++]

“This tolerance of violence is due to the norms of Japan’s male-dominated society and to its long history in which violence was condoned as a symbol of manliness. As a result, the sexual content of comic books aimed at young people has been curbed, whereas the authors and publishers have been given free rein in depicting violence (Bornoff 1991, 69-71). The past few years, however, have seen an active increase in movements, spurred on largely by women’s groups, to denounce sexual violence in the media. As a result, major enterprises, publishers, and television stations have revised their presentations of sexual violence. However, there are always people, in any society, eager to make a profit through work in the underground. It is an undeniable fact that comic books depicting sexual violence can be found in Japan today. Now, many people are crying out that urgent attention be given to sex education, in order to confront the sexism, gender bias, and sexual depravity found in such people as the authors and editors of these comic books. ++

Erotic “Ladies Comic Books”

Yoshiro Hatano, Ph.D. and Tsuguo Shimazaki wrote in the Encyclopedia of Sexuality: One type of popular Japanese erotic comics (ero-manga) is the “ladies comic books” that seem to glorify sexual violence and rape. These are not a tiny fringe phenomenon - Amour, the leading such comic, has been published for six years and claims a sales circulation of 400,000. Amour, Taboo, Cute, Scandal, Love, and other similar ero-manga have a greater impact than their substantial sales would indicate, because copies are often passed around among friends. Even so, these magazines are also not standard fare for the average Japanese woman. [Source: Yoshiro Hatano, Ph.D. and Tsuguo Shimazaki Encyclopedia of Sexuality, 1997 ++]

“The paradox of these “ladies comic books” lies in the fact that, although their readers are overwhelmingly women, mostly in their 20s and 30s, the cartoon stories glorify sexually passive women, sexual violence, and rape. Ninety of the 316 pages in the December 1995 issue ofAmour, for example, contained rape scenes. Despite the growing independence of Japanese women, these comics portray passive women being brutalized rather than assertive women who control their own lives. When interviewed by a New York Times reporter, Masafumi Mizuno, editor of Amour, admitted that “Sometimes we carry stories where the woman takes the initiative, and those kinds of stories have their fans. But most readers seem to prefer when the women are in a passive position.” Mariko Mitsui, a former politician and active feminist, Finds it puzzling that many young Japanese women really do not want to be liberated. “They want to escape independence, and so for them to be raped seems better” than negotiating their own sexual encounters. ++

“Another popular comics theme, particularly in those aimed at teenage girls, deals with romances between gay men. These are less graphic and more sentimental than stories of heterosexual romances. They are also erotically engaging without being personally threatening for teenagers who are just discovering their sexuality (Kristof 1995). ++

Japanese Subway Molesters

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ideal environment for
a subway molester
One of most notorious and embarrassing fixtures of the Japanese commuter life is the subway molester, a male who enjoys the opportunities presented by a crowded to subway to touch and fondle women's breasts, buttocks and legs. Men have also been caught with cameras in their shoes that allow them to take photographs up a woman’s skirt. [Source: Sherly Wu Dunn, New York Times, December 17, 1995]

Molesters are known as “chikan”. Most are salarymen in their 30s and 40s. Some have confessed that they have molested women in subways everyday for more than 25 years. About 1,500 to 1,700 men are arrested each year in Japan for groping, mostly on charges like violating city nuisance prevention ordinances. The number of report chikan cases on trains in the Tokyo metro area rose from 778 in 1996 to 1,338 in 1997 to 2,101 in 2000 to 2,201 in 2004. The cases involve unwanted grabbing f the buttocks, breasts or between the lags and may even involve ejaculation. Obviously there are many more cases that are not reported.

"When men and women are packed together, squeezed onto a train, I think everybody has some of desire to touch someone else," Samu Yamamoto, a member of molesters club, told the New York Times. "If someone were molesting on a train somewhere else in the world, they'd be accused of sexual harassment. It's unique to Japan that people put up with this."

Yamamoto has written about his experiences and said he met his wife after grabbing her on a subway. He says that his club meets occasionally to share tips and says the Christmas-New Year's holiday season is one of the best times for groping. "There lots of year-end parties and many women get drunk," he said, "so there will be plenty of good opportunities." For a while Yamamoto hosted a late-night television show called “Chikan Hyakka” (Encyclopedia of Groping) un which eh gave advise to prospective chikkab who wore ski masks to hide their identity,

In Japan there a number of websites and bulletin boards that offer tips on groping on subways and how to avoid getting caught. The websites were closed down after they were blamed for rise in the number of groping incidents.

Tokyo’s Saikyo Line Popular with Gropers

The JR Saikyo Line, which links Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture, has a reputation among gropers as being an "easy" place to molest passengers. In June 2012, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported: “Reported groping cases on the JR Saikyo Line have increased despite the installation of security cameras in some cars, apparently because gropers are targeting passengers in areas that are not under surveillance, according to the police. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, 1,244 cases of groping on trains were investigated last year in Tokyo, down 45 from 2010. However, cases on the Saikyo Line increased by 36 to 136. [Source: Yomiuri Shimbun, June 15, 2012]

“The number of reported cases of groping on the Saikyo Line fell after East Japan Railway Co. installed security cameras in some cars in December 2009. Station staff are conducting patrols and in-train announcements to alert passengers are being made more frequently as part of move by JR East to snuff out the groping problem. "It seems the deterrent of the cameras has worn off," a JR East official said.

“When Saikyo Line trains stop near the busy Shinjuku and Shibuya stations, the cars at the northern end of the train stop near ticket gates and become especially crowded. Passengers on commuter express trains are cooped up for relatively long periods because the trains make few stops, and doors on one side stay shut for quite a long time--conditions that apparently were behind messages posted on the Internet that claimed molesting passengers on the Saikyo Line is simple.

“In a national first, JR East experimentally installed a total of six security cameras on two Saikyo Line trains to deter gropers. The first two cameras began filming inside the last car of a Tokyo-bound train during the rush hour in December 2009. The project initially had some success, with 136 groping cases reported to police in 2009, down 28 from the previous year. When security cameras were installed on all Saikyo Line trains in 2010, the number of cases fell to 100--the fewest in the past decade. JR East and the MPD suspect the rebound in molestation cases is possibly the result of gropers avoiding cars with security cameras. The train operator does not plan to install more cameras. Instead, JR East will take steps such as deploying more station staff on platforms to make it easier for passengers to report crimes.

Victims of Subway Molesters in Japan

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A typical victims is on crowded train in which the passengers are squeezed against one another and there is so little space one can not even turn around. She is groped from behind and is unsure what to do and remains quiet. When she finally get a chance to turn around she faces three middle-aged salarymen and is unsure which one is the groper.

The National Police Agency estimates that 90 percent of train and subway groping incidents go unreported. In a survey of 2,221 women in August 2010, 304 women (13.7 percent ) said they had been groped and 271 of them (89.1 percent ) did not report it to police.

Many regular female subway riders say they have been grabbed at least once. One survey of high school girls found that 72 percent had been molested on a trains — most more than once. When police questioned victims of the Kobe earthquake in 1995, more women complained about subway molesters than the earthquake.

A survey by the Tokyo metropolitan government found that two of three women in their 20s and 30s have been groped on a train. Of these who had been griped about half said they endured it they could flee, a third said they tried to stop the molester. A third said they gave been molested in the past years, 40 percent said they had been molested three to five times. About 12 percent cent said they had been groped 11 times or more

Some victims complain that molesters have slipped a hand under their dresses and into their panties and slid a hand into their blouses to unhook their bras. One victim told the New York Times that she was so horrified when a molester slipped his hand under her bra she went out immediately and bought new clothes. Another said she saw a man fingering the undergarments of woman. "The train was so crowded she couldn't get away from him. At the next station she stepped out to change cars, but he followed her," she said.

Fighting Back Against Subway Molesters in Japan

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Some women grab the molesters by their testicles and give them powerful squeeze, but the problem is that the subways are often so crowded they often don't know who is molesting them. Other women carry large hat pins, which serves two purposes: it allows women to give a groping hand a painful stab and when the owner of hand yells out, the women can find out who their attacker is.

One woman who said she was grabbed by the same man day after day when she took subway home from school told U.S. News and World Report, "One day I got so fed up I grabbed [his] hand and held it up for everyone to see. He never did it again,"

New women-only subway cars were introduced in February 2001 partly to help women escape groping. Many women like the segregated subway system. The number of chiackan assaults has not decreased though .

The government has organized a nationwide campaign: “Chikan-wa Hanzai-da” ("Groping Is a Criminal Offense"). Anti-groping posters are hung in subway stations. Some of them featured pretty teenage girls in school uniforms that probably did more to excite than discourage potential gropers,

In August 2009, a well-known television commentator and economist was sentenced to four months in prison for groping a female high school student on a Tokyo train. The defendant claimed he was innocent and took his case to the Supreme Court, which upheld the sentence.

In December 2005, a 40-year-old businessman died after being caught molesting a young woman on a packed train in Osaka. The man groped a 20-year-old student in the morning rush hour and then tried to escape by running into busy Tennoji station, where he was tackled by a 32-year-old off-duty police officer and passengers on the train. The man lost consciousness and later died.

Japanese Police and Subway Molesters

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The maximum sentence for groping is a ¥1 million fine and a prison sentence of 10 years for repeat offenders. Sometimes forensic specialist are called in to prove groping has taken place by matching fibers found on the suspects hands — extracted using a special sticky film applied to the hands — with those released by the victims clothing using a micro spectrophotometer. A hand that accidently brushes against the clothing does not pick up fibers like groping does. .

A special police task forces caught 77 gropers in trains in the Tokyo metropolitan area in just one week in 2010, according to the National Police Agency. The crackdown focused on trains in Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, where griping is said to a problem. Forty-nine people were arrested for indecent assault, twenty-eight others were questioned. Twenty-nine of the 77 had previously been caught molesting on trains. [Source: Yomiuri Shimbun]

Most of the women claim that police and subway train masters are uncooperative and ignore their problem. One train master disagreed. He told the New York Times he tries to help but the vast majority of incidents are unreported. Recalling one incident, he said, "The woman didn't insist on calling the police and the guy admitted he did it but said he was repentant. We generally bring the woman to our office to sooth her and we reprimand the people who commit the crimes."

Some men have been falsely accused of molesting. One man in Nagasaki was arrested for groping and spent 21 days in prison but insisted that all he did was bump into the woman who accused him. Another man, in Tokyo, was accused by a woman of undoing his zipper and forcing a girl on a subway to fondle him even though he was wearing button-fly pants and had an overcoat on over that. He was arrested and jailed but was ultimately had the charges against him dropped but not before he spent $50,000 in legal fees and lost his job.

Men have killed themselves after being accused of groping. In August 2008, a 25-year-old man leapt to his death from a second floor while being questioned by police for allegedly touching a woman while she was swimming at Utsumi Beach in Aichi Prefecture. The man was impaled on iron railing below the veranda he leapt off of.

Some security cameras have been put in train cars to deter groping and prevent wrongful convictions.

In October 2009, a policeman in Hyogo Prefecture was arrested for stealing the underwear of a 14-year-old girl while visiting her house to question her about a crime.

Tokyo Subway Molesters Crackdown in 2011

In October 2011, Yoree Koh wrote in the Wall Street Journal: The Tokyo Metropolitan Police are beginning a one-week crackdown on subway molesters, known as chikan in Japan. There will be increased patrol units in civilian clothes roaming subway stations and trains with the specific aim of keeping an eye out for offenders, according to state broadcaster NHK. [Source: Yoree Koh, Wall Street Journal , October 24, 2011]

Unwanted handsy overtures and other lewd acts on Tokyo’s sardine-pack subway trains is not a new phenomenon. Yet despite different strategies to ward off unwanted advances, such as designating female-only subway cars during the morning rush-hour crush, the number of offenses remains uncomfortably high. There have been about 900 reported incidents inside subways cars in the first nine months of 2011 and Tokyo is set to break 1,000 offenses for the fourth consecutive year, according to NHK. About 18 percent of molestation cases took place inside or near a subway in 2010, according to the Tokyo police. In addition to the police officers, female volunteers distributed pamphlets encouraging commuters to report offenses.

'Up-skirt' Photos Aided by High-Tech Camera Technology

In November 2011, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported: An increasing number of cases of camera and video voyeurism using cell phones and spy cameras have been identified recently. According to the National Police Agency, the number of cases nationwide last year increased about 60 percent over five years ago. Police have stepped up crackdowns against such crimes, but methods of illicit filming have become increasingly sophisticated due to smaller cameras and improved cell phone video capabilities. Another factor behind the increase is believed to be the existence of Web sites sharing these photos and videos. [Source: Yomiuri Shimbun, November 8, 2011]

According to the NPA, the total number of identified cases of up-skirt photos and videos taken in stations and on trains and illicit filming at public baths and bathrooms was 1,087 in 2006. The number jumped to 1,741 cases in 2010. Of those, 1,702 were cases of up-skirt photos and videos, accounting for about 98 percent. Among prefectures, 266 cases were detected in Kanagawa Prefecture, followed by 201 cases in Tokyo, 131 cases in Hyogo Prefecture, 111 cases in Chiba Prefecture and 103 cases in Saitama Prefecture. About 40 percent of the cases were detected in the Tokyo metropolitan area--Tokyo and its surrounding three prefectures.

Especially noteworthy were videos taken using cell phones. Fifty percent of arrests made by the prefectural police on suspicion of violating the public nuisance ordinance involved filming using cell phone video cameras. A man arrested by the prefectural police on suspicion of illicit filming in Chiba was quoted by the police as saying: "I used the video function as I cannot take still photos well with my cell phone. The still photo shutter sound is too noticeable." A police officer explained why illicit video is increasing: "It's easier to shoot videos [than take photos] and it's possible to edit videos when the data is transferred to a computer. The video can be stopped anywhere and photos can be made from it," he said.

Filming methods have also become more surreptitious. Some people hide small cameras in a bag or in their shoe. In Akita Prefecture, a doctor was arrested in September on suspicion of having taken a video of a patient while he was examining her with a video camera watch. The doctor told the police he had bought the camera on the Internet. The number of cases of illicit filming is also increasing in the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police Department over the past few years. A senior MPD officer said, "One of the reasons is cameras have become smaller and quality has improved."

Experts say women using cell phones or wearing earphones are more likely to be targeted. A Chiba prefectural police officer warns women to be cautious of their surroundings, saying, "Please check behind yourself on trains or escalators without being totally absorbed in your cell phone or a music player." Rissho University Prof. Nobuo Komiya, an expert on criminal sociology, pointed out the necessity of proactive Web site identification by police. "In Japan, measures against indecent images on the Internet are weak and providers aren't detecting Web sites containing illicit images," he said.

Eyeball Licking in Japan

In June 2013, Michelle Castillo of CBS News wrote: “A strange trend among Japanese school-aged children and teens -- licking a friend or lover's eyeballs -- may be perplexing, but experts are more worried about the germs they are potentially spreading. "This is a dangerous practice which has the potential to spread a number of bacteria that reside in the mouth to the eye resulting in bacterial infections such as conjunctivitis to styes as well as abscesses involving the lids and eye socket," Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, told CBSNews.com. [Source: Michelle Castillo, CBS News, June 17, 2013 |=|]

“Eyeball licking, which is also known as "worming" or oculolinctus, has existed for quite some time, and there are numerous clips of people engaging in the act on YouTube. Japanese blog Naver Matome interviewed one concerned teacher who said that he ran into two sixth grade students licking each others' eyeballs in an equipment room. After he confronted them, they admitted it was popular in their class. His independent survey of students confirmed his fears: One-third of the children admitted to eyeball licking.” |=|

The Guardian cites a Japanese music video from the band Born, which features an eyeball licking scene, as the spark for the reignited trend. Dr. Robert Noecker, an ophthalmologist practicing in Connecticut, told Medical Daily that the eyeballs may act as an erogenous zone due to the amount of nerves. "The cornea is the most innervated part of the body," Noecker said. "That's why it might feel good to have it licked. It's the same thing with sucking toes -- they're so sensitive because the body needs to be able to detect minor particles and other disturbances. If you're so inclined, that's the plus." |=|

“But, eyeball licking comes with many risks. It's easy to spread bacteria that causes conjunctivitis, better known as pink eye, with your tongue. When infected with the germs, the clear lining inside the eyelid and the white of the eye gets inflamed, giving the eye a pink or red color. Normally, pink eye will go away on its own, but in severe cases people will need antibiotics or other medical treatment. |=|

“The Japanese teacher also noted with growing concern that he saw up to 10 students at a time wearing eye patches, which he realized were hiding eye ailments. Glatter, who hasn't seen any of these cases enter his emergency room just yet, said he's also worried about the spread of sexually transmitted infections. "Chlamydia is a bacteria of particular concern which can be spread sexually, and has the potential to lead to blindness if left untreated," he pointed out. "Although its incidence is decreasing, it is always a concern in this setting, especially if there has been any orogenital contact." |=|

“There's also the chance that licking the eyeball could accidentally scratch it. Any cuts can become a trap for bacteria, which can lead to other problems. Dr. Phillip Rizzuto, a spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, told the Huffington Post that left untreated some of these germs could also cause blindness. "The bacteria in the mouth is nothing like the bacteria in the eyeball, which is why we no longer recommend people lick contact lenses to moisten them," Rizzuto said. Noecker warned teens not to try this activity at all. "There's got to be better ways to do things," Noecker said. "I would recommend that people find another outlet that won't compromise their vision in the long term." |=|

Reports of Japanese Eyeball Licking at School Reportedly A Hoax

David Moye wrote in The Huffington Post, “A Japanese pinkeye outbreak that was allegedly caused by eyeball licking has turned out to be a hoax according to Japan-based journalist Mark Schrieber. A reported outbreak of pinkeye among Japanese students who allegedly licked each other's eyeballs is a hoax, according to a reporter based in Japan. Back in June, The Huffington Post, the Daily Caller and the Guardian , among other sites, reported that a group of junior high students caught conjunctivitis -- commonly known as "pinkeye" -- after engaging in "oculolinctus" or "worming," a fetish where one person puts his or her tongue to another's eyeballs. [Source: David Moye, The Huffington Post August 8, 2013 +]

“However, Mark Schrieber, who writes for The Japan Times, said that after the story broke internationally, he contacted three Japanese professional organizations, including two ophthalmological associations, a university professor, and an organization of school clinicians to find out about the Japanese eyeball licking outbreak. "None of them had the faintest idea of what I was talking about," Schrieber wrote in No. 1 Shimbun, a trade publication for foreign correspondents in Japan. "None knew anything about the rampant spread of disease." +

“Most English language journalists picked up the story from ShanghaiList, a website that translates articles from Asian news outlets into English. Schrieber said the original source of the story turned out to be Bucchi News, a site for subculture enthusiasts that he says has a dubious reputation for accuracy. The Japanese eyeball licking outbreak may be a hoax, but eyeball licking as a trend has been around since 2006, and there are countless videos of people engaging in the practice. +

Elektrika Energias, a 29-year-old environmental science student in the U.S. Virgin Islands, told HuffPost in June that eyeball licking is a very intimate act, like toe sucking. "It makes me feel all tingly," Energias said. "I don't ask just anyone to do it," she said. "Guys I like a lot are more likely to not think it's so weird. I've never had anyone turn me down though," she said. HuffPost Weird News editor Andy Campbell is also someone who has had his eyeballs licked "It's strange to have something touch the eye without it hurting," Campbell told HuffPost. "I was a receiver, not a giver. I don't see it as a sexual thing. But you have to be comfortable with someone." Eye experts like Dr. David Granet say eyeball licking is a bad idea, hoax or no hoax. "Nothing good can come of this," Granet warned HuffPost. "There are ridges on the tongue that can cause a corneal abrasion. And if a person hasn't washed out their mouth, they might put acid from citrus products or spices into the eye." +

Sexual Dysfunctions and Therapies

Yoshiro Hatano, Ph.D. and Tsuguo Shimazaki wrote in the Encyclopedia of Sexuality: Unfortunately, no compiled information is currently available on sexual dysfunctions in Japan. However, by drawing inferences from many researchers on the subject, certain facts come to light. The most common dysfunction, accounting for about half of all informally reported sexual disorders, is erectile dysfunction. Other common dysfunctions include sexual phobias, sexual avoidance, decreased sexual desire, dyspareunia (painful intercourse), female orgasmic disorder, vaginismus (painful vaginal spasms), homosexuality, and gender identity disorder. [Source: Yoshiro Hatano, Ph.D. and Tsuguo Shimazaki Encyclopedia of Sexuality, 1997 ++]

One dysfunction that has become an issue of late is that of sexual inactivity among couples. Dr. Teruo Abe, a psychiatrist who studied under the American Helen Singer Kaplan, defines the term sexually inactive couples as “couples who do not engage in consensual sexual intercourse or sexual contact for a period of one month or longer, despite the lack of special circumstances, and who can be expected to remain sexually inactive for a long period after that.” Abe reports that the number of such sexually inactive couples during the period from 1991 to 1994 increased by 2 to 4 times the number between 1985 and 1990. Yet, over a ten-year period, only 303 patients with this dysfunction came to seek Abe’s assistance. Assuming that there are about 50 institutions in Japan that treat this sexual disorder, estimating generously, then only about 12,000 to 15,000 people have visited doctors for this sexual disorder over the past ten years. While there are probably many opinions on whether this number is large or not, the number reflects the current state of the disorder in Japan. ++

There are no types of sexual dysfunctions peculiar to the Japanese. The most common dysfunctions are treated by such specialists as gynecologists, urologists, and psychiatrists, or clinical therapists and counselors. Unfortunately, these fields of medicine remain too isolated from one another in Japan. It would be desirable, therefore, for the medical institutes themselves to gain an understanding of all aspects of human sexuality. ++

In 1976, the Japanese Red Cross Medical Center was the first public medical institution in Japan to establish a sexual counseling center. Although before that time, sexual treatment was carried out in the gynecology, urology, and psychiatry departments of private and university hospitals, such treatment was mainly for functional disorders. It was very rare for these hospitals to provide treatment from the perspective of total human sexuality. ++

Japanese doctors, counselors, psychologists, and sociologists who first became aware of the importance of sexual counseling and treatment met and formed the Japanese Association for Sex Counselors and Therapists (JASCT) in July 1979. The Association welcomed Patricia Schiller, founder of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT), as honorable chairman and adopted the ideology of her organization. The JASCT proceeded to take charge of sexual counseling and therapy in Japan and continues to do so today. JASCT’s objective is to carry out surveys and research with the help of sex counselors and doctors who treat sexual disorders. They do not issue licenses in recognition of qualifications. ++

From what limited information is available, it certainly seems that Japan is very active in the treatment of sexual dysfunctions, but unfortunately the reality is that a lot more problems remain unsolved. Underlying those problems in Japan is the popular notion that sex is not something you talk about, and the belief that, except in cases of extreme pain, as long as you can tolerate the problem, it will heal in time and you will not have to bother others about it. Recently, however, an increasing number of people in their 40s or younger, who have been exposed to a more sexually open society in their youth, are moving away from this tendency and seeking sexual counseling and treatment. ++

Image Sources:

Text Sources: Yoshiro Hatano, Ph.D. and Tsuguo Shimazaki Encyclopedia of Sexuality, 1997 ++; New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, The Guardian, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, Global Viewpoint (Christian Science Monitor), Foreign Policy, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, NBC News, Fox News and various books and other publications.

Last updated December 2013


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