Japanese firms reap rewards from foreign condom frenzy

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

Think that is harsh, then consider local condom maker Sagami Rubber Industries Co, battling a shrinking, aging and now increasingly frigid Japanese clientele. It is 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-based company is limiting the volumes it is dispatching from its remaining product inventory to avoid some shops missing out before the Feb 8 Lunar New Year, President Ichiro Ohato said.