How is Japan in such a big pickle with the population shrinking. If an economy is based on a kids being born so they grow and sustain the aging population, how did Japan, a country known for their meticulous approach to everything, got themselves in this situation. For sure they must have seen it coming 20-30 years ago.
What went wrong? If they got it worn, how do we have it right? With the government not providing any kind of meaningful incentives for families to have kids, when will the 24th hour come for the rest of us?
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The broad cultural and economic causes of the “demographic transition” is wide spread, from Japan to Europe but Japan has a few wrinkles that make the problem particularly acute.
-Japan has a very traditional idea of motherhood and the stay a home mom. So in order to get around that career oriented women, just don’t have kids, or put off having kids.
-Japan has traditionally been opposed to immigration on a mass scale (although this is starting to change). Generally speaking immigrant families have higher birth rates and as they integrate over a few generations, their birth rate aligns with the native population.
-Japanese work culture is rooted in seniority and thus the guy who is always in the office and goes out for drinks after work is more likely to get ahead career wise, even if they are overworking themselves to the point of less productivity.
-Japan is simply further down the road then some of its contemporaries, In 1960 for instance the birth rate for an American women for 3.65 and for a Canadian it was 3.81 children per women. Japan however had a birthrate of just 2.0 children per women. All three nations have seen a decline in birthrate since then, but when it comes to demographics momentum means a lot.
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