RADIO CHOICE

THE Japanese seem to be giving up on sex. In a recent survey, 42 per cent of single men aged 18-34 said they have never had sex, while 44 per cent of women aged 18-34 were equally chaste. There’s not much action between married couples either, with the result that, as Chie Kobayashi and Ruth Evans report in NO SEX PLEASE (RADIO 4, 11AM), the birth rate in Japan is plummeting.

TOWARD The Unknown Region follows the journey of the soul from darkness to light. The words of poet Walt Whitman were set to music by the young Ralph Vaughan Williams. The work starts with quiet music and hushed singing; it then enters a fear-filled passage, but ends joyously. Toward The Unknown Region opens BBC PROMS 2018 (RADIO 3, 7.30PM), giving a taste of some of the emotional

music that lies ahead at the Royal Albert Hall, until the musical jolly-up that is the Last Night Of The Proms.

QUINCY JONES (pictured) is one of the great musical geniuses of our times — the scope and quality of his work are downright amazing. He turned 85 this year and, by way of celebration, he conducted a concert of his work at the O2 in London last month, with sessions from Paul Weller, Beverley Knight, Andreas Varady and other stars. QUINCY JONES — IN CONCERT (RADIO 2, 8PM) is a recording of that glittering event.