WHAT A SOCIETY IN DECLINE LOOKS LIKE: Japanese go off sex amid loss of male confidence. “Half of Japanese, and 45 per cent of married people, admitted that they had not had sex in the previous month, in findings that have alarming implications for a country facing a longterm demographic crisis. The survey, by the Japan Family Planning Association, attests to the growing number of ‘herbivorous males,’ men who disdain traditional pursuits, such as fast cars, successful careers and girlfriends, in a loss of masculine confidence that mirrors the stagnation of the Japanese economy.”

That could never happen here. Or could it?