A web-based survey of 6,000 Japanese men aged 50 or older reveals that sexual arousal remains their highest priority for preservation, ranking above erectile function, fertility, orgasm, and ejaculation. Conducted by researchers from April to July 2026, the study highlights how male sexual priorities extend far beyond errections.
As medical advancements allow for earlier diagnoses of prostate cancer and treatments that preserve nerve function, maintaining quality of life has taken center stage for aging populations. While nerve-sparing surgeries help target erectile health, a comprehensive view of sexual well-being encompasses arousal, orgasms, ejaculation, and fertility. Until recently, little was known about which specific domains men value most as they age.
Study Design and Participant Demographics Across Japan
To investigate these priorities, researchers evaluated responses from 6,000 Japanese men aged 50 and older who participated in an online cross-sectional survey. The survey utilized quota sampling to secure balanced representation across multiple age brackets, registering 1,000 participants in their 50s, 2,000 in their 60s, 1,500 in their 70s, and another 1,500 aged 80 years or older. Fieldwork took place between April and July 2026.
Participants reported a mean age of 69.8 years with a standard deviation of 10.6, spanning from 50 to 111 years old. The demographic breakdown showed that 75.9% of respondents were married and 70.0% had children. Regarding partner status, 11.8% maintained an active sexual partner, 63% had a partner with minimal sexual activity, and 25.2% reported having no partner at all. Because only 382 respondents were aged 85 or older, researchers restricted primary age-group figures to participants between 50 and 84 years old.
Ranking Sexual and Reproductive Priorities
When asked to rank five specific sexual and reproductive domains according to which function they would least want to lose, respondents placed sexual arousal at the very top. Defined in the survey as sexual desire or heightened sexual feeling, arousal was chosen as the top priority by 42.8% of participants. Erection followed at 26.0%, with fertility at 14.2%, orgasm at 9.3%, and ejaculation rounding out the list at 7.6%.
The data demonstrated that the high priority placed on sexual arousal remained stable across all age groups without statistically significant variations tied to age. Conversely, the importance placed on preserving erections showed a modest but significant increase alongside advancing age. Specifically, the proportion of men prioritizing erections rose from 22.9% among those in their 50s to 29.2% among men in their 70s.
Age-Related Declines Across Sexual Functions
The survey also tracked the self-reported status of arousal, erections, ejaculation, and orgasm, categorizing them as retained, declined, almost lost, or not applicable. Reports of functions being almost lost climbed steadily with age. Among participants in their 50s, roughly 5% to 7% reported an almost complete loss across the domains. By the time men reached 80 to 84 years of age, that proportion jumped significantly, with 53.5% reporting ejaculation as almost lost and 45.8% reporting the same for orgasm.
Demographic factors such as household income, occupation, residence, marital status, and having children did not significantly sway how participants ranked their primary functional priorities. Researchers obtained ethical approval from the Institutional Review Board, treating completion of the web-based questionnaire as informed consent.
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