Condoms and other contraceptives are seen by some as the only way to prevent premarital pregnancy and the spread of STDs. (Photo : Reuters )
Japanese sex drives have plunged so low that a local condom maker has rejoiced at the trend of Chinese inbound tourists stocking up on their products, as reported by Bloomberg.
With Sagami Rubber Industries Co. struggling with the aging and increasingly unsexual Japanese market, some relief has come from the popularity of its products across the sea.
In China, demand for foreign condom brands has increased. Chinese visitors to Japan have been loading up on Sagami's thinnest variant so much so that it has sold out.
The Kanawaga-based company is now limiting the volumes it is dispatching for fear that some shops might miss out before the Feb. 8 Lunar New Year, according to Ichiro Ohato, the president of Sagami.
"Thanks to this inbound business, we're suddenly facing shortages," said Ohato. "Retailers have been bombarding us with calls every day, telling us they want more and more."
Ohato's grandmother founded Sagami in 1934.
Sagami's stock increased by 9.6 percent, closing at 583 yen in Tokyo on Monday, its biggest gain since Oct. 5. The benchmark Topix Index climbed by 1.3 percent.
With recent reports of Chinese condoms having various safety concerns, Chinese consumers have chosen Japanese condoms that they perceive as high-quality, according to Masashi Mori, an analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG in Tokyo.
Police in Shanghai confiscated 3 million fake condoms made from dodgy materials, according to a People's Daily report in April.
Two years prior, authorities in Ghana reported that 1 million condoms imported from a Chinese company burst during sex and contained holes, according to a report by the Guardian.
Around 5 million people from mainland China visited Japan in 2015, double that of 2014, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. This has helped the sales of Japanese-made goods like diapers, feminine-care products, toilet seats and rice cookers.
"Japan has become a shopping mecca for Chinese tourists due to the desire for 'Made in Japan' goods, the unique shopping experience the country provides for Chinese tourists and in addition the recent duty-free status now granted to tourists," said Jaren Conway, Japan research manager with Euromonitor International.
Sagami is also a beneficiary, with its shares surging by 137 percent to 1,071 yen in Tokyo during the first 10 months of last year. Its rival Okamoto Industries Inc. went up as well by 156 percent to 1,099 yen.
