[Original article] TOKYO — While a large amount of traffic to the world’s most viewed adult website comes from Japan, the effects of internet pornography are rarely discussed in the country. Yet addiction is becoming a serious issue, with 5.7% of university students in a 2021 study saying it causes problems in their daily lives.
Excessive viewing of pornography has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a form of mental illness, and research on the problem is proceeding in Western countries. Despite its low profile in Japan, people in the country are now beginning to complain of addictions to online porn.
One such person was a man in his 20s, who visited a mental clinic in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. “I keep watching internet porn. I want to stop, but I just can’t,” he complained. The excessive viewing of pornography was affecting his daily life, forcing him to repeat a year at the university he was attending.
The clinic’s director, Hiroyuki Ide, who examined the man, pointed out the similarity of porn addiction to other dependencies. “Its form is the same as that of dependence on alcohol and drugs,” Ide explained. “It’s necessary to treat the illness while focusing on the difficulty in living that patients have deep in their hearts, where the root of the dependence lies.”
On the other hand, Ide also feels that there are difficulties unique to online pornography.
“The reality is that anyone can easily watch it,” he said. “The characteristic feature of dependence is that with a single click, the desire for stronger stimulation escalates. It’s a problem that doesn’t surface easily, but potentially a lot of people are suffering from it.”
The WHO released a revised International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) in 2018, adding a new category of “compulsive sexual behavior disorder.” Excessive use of online pornography and other activities that interfere with daily life are included in this category, marking the first time the habit has been recognized as a mental disorder.
In 2019, Japan accounted for the second-highest amount of traffic to the world’s most viewed adult website, behind only the United States.
In the midst of this situation, Daisuke Ito, an associate professor of clinical psychology specializing in cognitive-behavioral therapy at Hyogo University of Teacher Education, and Yushun Okabe, a special research fellow at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, are conducting full-scale studies.
The two scientists conducted a survey of 1,011 adult men and women in Japan in 2022 and found that 7.3%, or 74 people, had problematic viewing habits, making such comments as, “I tried to stop but kept watching.” Of the 74 people, half were found to have symptoms suggestive of serious mental disorders such as dysphoria. When combined with those who showed moderate depression, symptoms of anxiety, or mood or anxiety disorders, 80% had some kind of disorder. In some cases, pornography viewing cut into their time for sleep, hobbies, study or housework.
A survey of 150 male and female students attending four-year universities in Japan, conducted in 2021, found that 5.7% of the students were unable to control their pornography viewing to varying degrees, causing problems in their daily lives.
Ito stated, “Porn viewing itself is an activity that many individuals engage in, and is different from illegal drugs, the mere use of which is against the law. However, the survey results clearly show that a certain number of people are unable to stop viewing pornography, affecting their lives.”
Okabe commented, “Given the fact that compulsive sexual behavior has been identified in ICD-11, it may be time to seriously consider providing support. Internet pornography is much more accessible than conventional porn, and the content is unlimited, so it can be viewed endlessly. I would like people to consult a counselor or a doctor at a hospital before the situation becomes serious.”
(Japanese original by Akihiro Kawakami, Tokyo City News Department)
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