I'm sure the French are proud. It must be the food. They don't put as many chemical fertilizers on it, I guess.
Tuesday March 10 1998
Japan Young men's sperm fail to meet global standards
BENJAMIN FULFORD in Tokyo
A survey of 34 healthy young men found only one had normal sperm as defined by the World Health Organisation.
Dr Shigeru Oshio, of Tokyo's Teikyo University, investigated sperm samples taken from the men, aged 20 to 26, to see if the sperm met organisation standards for mobility, density, survival and shape.
"Sperm counts in Japan have been falling over the past 20 years," said Dr Oshio.
"Counts have been dropping everywhere in the world but Japan's were among the lowest found anywhere.
"There may also be ethnic differences in sperm counts, since, for example, one study showed French men had higher sperm counts that Thai men."
Countries around the world have reported declining sperm counts since a team in Denmark reported a massive fall there between 1938 and 1990.
The Danish team suggested chemical fertilisers were the reason for the decline.
More recently, environmental hormones - substances that mimic natural hormones - have been fingered as a possible culprit.
"Nobody really knows what is causing it," said Dr Oshio.
"There are many things that could reduce sperm production including diet, stress and tight pants, so it is premature to jump to the conclusion it is hormones in the environment." Dr Oshio said a lot more research needed to be done on the subject.
"There were far too few people in my study, so we will need to carry out a much larger survey," he added.
The doctor said there was not enough evidence to link the low sperm counts in his study with Japan's declining birth rates.
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