Retail in Asia

China’s foreign condom frenzy gives low-libido Japan an economic boost

In Japan, sex-drives have plunged so low that young, libido-challenged men are sometimes referred to as soshokukei danshi, or herbivore men.

Think that’s harsh, then consider local condom maker Sagami Rubber Industries Co., battling a shrinking, aging and now increasingly frigid Japanese clientele. It’s no wonder then that the company is getting some relief from the popularity its prophylactics are enjoying across the sea.

Demand for foreign-brand rubbers has surged in China, and its tourists visiting Japan in record numbers are loading up, so much so that Sagami’s thinnest product has sold out. Now the Kanagawa Prefecture-based company is limiting the volumes it’s dispatching from its remaining product inventory to avoid some shops missing out before the Feb. 8 Lunar New Year, President Ichiro Ohato said.