Paper short abstract:

The purpose of this study is to give a brief description of sexuality in contemporary Japanese society, viewing broad range of sexual behavior and consciousness. It, especially focused on sexless couple relationship and extramarital affairs, which both increased in recent years.

Paper long abstract:

Whereas in Western countries continued sexual intimacy is perceived not only as a source of pleasure, but also as essential in maintaining healthy couple relationships across the whole lifespan, the situation in Japan is very different. This study will first give a brief description of sexual consciousness, behavior and sexual norm and in the contemporary Japanese society. It will then highlight especially the causes of the phenomenon of extramarital affairs and sexlessness in couple relationships, which is particularly salient after living together, marriage and childbirth. Survey shows that both phenomenon simultaneous increased in recent years, especially between 2000 and 2012 for both sexes in age of 40's to 60's. This study puts forth possible explanations, among them the relative importance of the relationship's status as opposed to the real lived relationship; the friend-focused approach to relationships which is uninterested in romantic forms of physical intimacy or any common leisure at all; and the historically deep-ingrained perceptions towards the usage of commercial sexual services. The fundament of all the explanations can be traced back to a lack of sexual education. Education regarding sexual health and the benefits of sexual satisfaction for both sides in a couple relationship would diminish the difficulties in understanding how sexuality and family life can be combined. - Alternative discourses that attempt to explain the Japanese particularities of contemporary sexuality in terms of the unique Japanese culture can be dismissed.

Paper short abstract:

This talk aims to give an insight in (romantic) couple relationships beyond marriage with a special focus on the interrelation of space and practices of intimacy, based on a discussion of the literature and recent statistical data as well as on findings from a field study in Tokyo.

Paper long abstract:

In an era where more and more people are living alone and getting married at a later age or not at all, it becomes necessary to look at personal relationships beyond marriage. While marriage and changes in marriage behaviour have been examined intensively and from various perspectives in the last decades, (intimate) personal relationships beyond marriage and their meaning for individuals and their lives in contemporary Japanese society have received far less attention. Based on a discussion of the literature and recent statistical data from the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research as well as on findings from a field study in Tokyo conducted in 2010, this talk aims to give an insight in personal relationships beyond marriage with a focus on intimate couple relationships.

In public discourse young adults are often said to consider intimate couple relationships as troublesome (mendokusai) and therefore tend to avoid them. However, my findings from the field study in Tokyo clearly disprove this assumption for the majority of the interviewees. Many of them had lived or lived various forms of intimate romantic relationships (dates, affaires, sexual relationships or couple relationships with and without cohabitation). Others were longing for intimate relationships but were facing various kinds of obstacles, which detain them from realising their romantic dreams. I will argue that a spatial perspective can be very gainful for a better understanding of (difficulties in) intimate couple relationships in contemporary Japanese society, where gender-segregated working places and living with one's parents are standard while cohabitation is uncommon. The talk will address the following questions: Which influences have these and other spatial factors on the constitution, the every-day and biographical 'doing' (Jurczyk 2009) as well as the institutionalisation of couple relationships? What kind of meaning do (non-)places (Augé 1995) like love hotels and dating spots bear? What kind of meaning do (physical, virtual) co-presence and (geographical, emotional) proximity have? How are space and various 'practices of intimacy' (Jamieson 2011) interrelated in the Japanese context?

Paper short abstract:

I explore emerging perceptions concerning intimacy care and affection among married partners, and their expression in light of widespread socio-cultural notions. I refer to research methods in the study of typically hidden aspect of life, and conclude with the case of international couples..

Paper long abstract:

Intimacy and closeness in couple relations are by no mean, newly introduced emotions in Japan; however, they tend to be perceived, conceptualized and performed differently in recent years. Inter-generational comparative view throws light on visual aspects of this perceptual shift, while cross cultural perspective brings forward cultural specific interpretations and practices concerning close relationships. At the same time, common threads, such as images of affection and care, seem to run through different societies, as the personal emotional world is globalizing through consumption and adoption of collective cross-cultural artifacts and jargon (emoticons, visual images in the internet mass media, world cinema and so forth).

Commonly in Japan, expressions of intimacy, affection and care, particularly among adults, is considered to be private, and such expressions on the public arena would most likely be labeled as improper and rude (shitsurei). However, my study explores emerging understandings and transforming expectations concerning exchange of intimacy in couple relations, both within the private realm of the house and beyond it. In my effort to outline the above trends, I was unable to conduct orthodox participant observations, and therefore tried some bypassing routes - where I soon realized how my own handling of intimacy came under curious observation. My paper addresses methodological consideration regarding the study of relatively veiled aspect of social life, and portrays how intimacy is being expressed, suppressed, communicated and exchanged among Japanese partners in urban Japan. It is based on three years fieldwork and follow-up interviews with Japanese men and women in their late twenties up to their late thirties, who live in a large city in contemporary Japan. My current interest in international couples, where one partner is Japanese and the other is not (mostly Israelis), further highlights these trends.