Why does Japan still have a declining/low birth rate, even though the Japanese goverment has enacted several nation-wide policies to tackle the problem?
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I read a thing awhile ago about the crazy work culture in Japan (people are often putting in a lot of overtime. Like a LOT of overtime) and it doesn’t leave much time for romance
I see declining birth rates (in Western nations) as a referendum on the hopefulness & percentage of the general population that’s able to thrive financially. When young people are unable to attain decent jobs, make decent money, & have confidence in their futures, they’re not going to have any/as many children. Again, this does not apply to every country/region.
This is so-called complex issue, which means a multitude of relatively easy to identify problems intermingle in a way it becomes very difficult for the society to solve.
And it isn’t just a Japanese issue – other Asian countries as well as a large number of European countries are in the same trap. The argument that it is a cultural issue specific to Japan mostly misses the point.
Moreover, a traditional society loves to blame the youth, while these are previous generations which have set exploitative systems that are difficult to reform. Young people have to adapt to what they find.
Below are just some of the issues you need to consider, pretty common for most countries with negative population growth rate issues.
1. High divorce rate means it is a rational choice to wait with having kids until you are sure you’ve found the right guy… which often means the birth is late and there is only one child in the family.
2. Even if most countries have figured out the issue of bringing mothers back into the work force, this doesn’t mean they can return to their carrier. Many companies side-track mothers with small children, as they have less time available for work. This means if you leave workforce for the childbirth early, you are stuck with low paying position for considerable time.
3. I’ve seen the statistic that over half of single mothers in Japan live below the poverty line. This is similar in other countries. Tied with point 1 and 2 it is a very powerful motivator to avoid having children early.
4. The men are unwilling to raise kids of another. This means you can try again if you are divorced without kids, but it is very hard if you do have them. This is probably the strongest cultural factor on the list, but there are few countries which managed to break it somehow.
5. To reverse negative growth people really ought to have 3 children at least… the costs related to having that many children is prohibitive. The level of support needed is not just the cash paid per child, but completely free access to education (including universities), public transport, museums and cinemas, vacations etc. This is level of support that very few countries are willing to provide (France is doing some of these and is one of the very few countries which have reversed the negative growth, IIRC).
There are other factors as well, but the point is even if you solve some of the issues, other will still keep your country down… and to solve all of them the extensive social reforms are needed… which would likely be strongly opposed by social conservatives. In a conservative society the majority of voters would oppose it as well.
You can’t raise a family while living pay check to pay check while renting a two-bedroom shoebox. Japan, Korea and similar locations are the litmus test that are warning what’s to come when two gainfully employed parents can’t make end meets even before having children.
One other reason — being a proper Japanese mother and wife is incredibly competitive and high pressure.
You are judged on your performance in so many ways — whose bento is the cutest? whose kid has the highest grade? which kid is best dressed? which kid has the best manners/knows more poetry/did the prettiest drawing? etc.
You have to hand sew a bunch of stuff for your kid PERFECTLY. If your kid does poorly/looks sloppy/behaves badly, it reflects poorly on you, not them. You have to bring the tastiest treat to PTA, be the best dressed mother, etc., and if you don’t take it seriously, lots of other moms will be quick to cut you out. As well as your mother-in-law. And this matters in Japan, where the connections that help your kids succeed are particularly important.
It can really be a total hell.
As someone who lives in Japan, the government does jackshit to improve birthrate.
Most hospital do not offer epidural, for those who do it will cost you $1500+ from your pocket.
There isn’t enough kindergarten, the wait is insane.
There isn’t a babysitter system good enough because they still think the grandparents can do it, whereas they most likely live far away in today’s society.
School only becomes free from 3 years old, and by free I mean only the registration, everything else is from your pocket (uniform, activities etc)
So many freaking places have a “no children” policy, including hotels and restaurants.
If you look in the news, old people even managed to have the city close a children playground because the sound of playing children was too much disturbance for them.
If you aren’t married there is no protection for the children, if you divorce there is no shared custody or anything.
It takes balls to have children in Japan.
I lived in Japan for a few years. Female friends knew that as soon as they were married, there would be intense pressure to have a child and drop their careers. Women who continue to work while having a child are judged harshly by other mothers as not being devoted enough, meanwhile many companies will not hire married women/mothers due to the expectation that they will not be devoted enough to their jobs, due to their many obligations at home. Add on the fact that the average single income from the husband isn’t enough to rear a child these days, and women are in a really difficult position. My female friends were almost all on the same page, single life was the only way they could make enough money to live while still having some freedoms.
On top of that, Japanese companies are so demanding of their workforce that men will be expected to spend nearly their entire day there. I heard of families where husbands and wives saw each other only a few hours a week, creating really lonely existences for women stuck alone in the home.
Basically, married life is extremely unattractive for women due to social attitudes, and being single with a child is even worse. It’s frustrating, the government is not focusing on the right issues to solve these problems. I’m sure that’s only a piece of the whole puzzle but that’s one of the most common reasons I heard for why women were not having kids.
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