Official figures show that Japanese schoolchildren are having more sex than ever before, and that many are shunning condoms, unaware of the risks of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

　　Japan, which has an estimated 10,000 people living with HIV/Aids, is the only G7 country in which new cases of the virus have increased since 1993. A record 1,165 new cases were diagnosed last year, the health and welfare ministry said, with about 40% of all newly infected people in their teens or 20s.

　　Increased sexual activity among the young has been accompanied by a rise in other sexually transmitted diseases. One recent survey identified a disturbing rise in incidences of chlamydia among Japanese teenagers.

　　The number of teens diagnosed with the disease, which can cause infertility, rose to 6,163 in 2003 from 3,639 four years earlier, according to the health ministry. The actual figure may be even higher.

　　The trend has prompted a debate about the effectiveness of sex education in Japanese schools as teenage pregnancies rise to record levels.

　　While many parents and conservative politicians are appalled by graphic images in some sex education textbooks, health experts say teachers need to offer even franker explanations of the risks of unprotected sex.

　　A recent survey found nearly 40% of senior high school students aged 15 to 18 have had sex. Nearly half of 17-year-old girls have had sex, compared with 17% in 1990.

　　Experts blame a combination of a cultural reluctance to openly discuss sex in the home and a popular culture that often treats teenage girls as sex objects. In addition, the proliferation of online dating sites has led to a rise in enjo-kosai ("compensated dating"), a euphemism for teen prostitution, in which girls sleep with men they meet in chatrooms in exchange for cash or gifts.

日本青少年急于接触 性问题严重化

　　日本官方数据显示，近年来，日本青少年中有过性经历的人数大幅上升，而其中大部分人都避免使用避孕套，并且对艾滋病病毒感染和其它性传播疾病的防疫知识一无所知。

　　据英国《卫报》6月18日报道，目前，日本艾滋病病毒或艾滋病感染者约有1万例。自1993年以来，日本是七国集团中感染例数惟一上升的国家。日本健康福利部透露，去年新增病例1165宗，其中有40%发生在30岁以下的青少年人群中。

　　除此之外，日本青少年中患有其它性传播疾病的人数也在明显上升。日本官方数据显示，青少年中患有衣原体疾病的人数从1999年的3639人迅速上升到2003年的6163人。而实际的患病人数还可能更高。衣原体疾病会不但导致骨盆感染和不育症，还容易使患者感染上艾滋病病毒。

　　日本最近的一份调查报告揭露，40%的15岁至18岁高中生有过性经历；50%的17岁女生有过性行为，这一数字在1990年仅为17%。随着未婚先孕问题的严重化，日本青少年性问题引发了社会对青少年性教育的探讨。

　　许多青少年的父母和保守派政客对一些性教育课本中绘制逼真的图片极为反感。代表日本自由民主党保守势力的议员山田谷反对在学校教室里悬挂性教育图片。她认为，公开的性教育等于是在鼓励学生过早发生性行为。

　　专家认为，日本青少年性问题的严重化归咎于日本人在家中羞于谈性的传统观念和社会上将少女视为性对象的不良倾向的；同时，网络的普及为网络性交易提供了温床，一些少女就为换取零用钱或礼物与网友发生性行为。

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