Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says his country is barely able to function as a society because the birth rate has plummeted. Japan is estimated to have fewer than 800,000 births last year. Down from the 1970s, the figure is more than two million.
"Japan is on the verge of whether we can continue to function as a society," Kishida told lawmakers. "Focusing attention on policies regarding children and parenting is an issue that cannot wait and cannot be postponed," he said. What caused it?
The problem is serious. Japan could lose a third of its population by 2060 if the trend is not controlled. Its economy is under great threat because there are not enough productive workers.
One of the main causes is financial problems, where the cost of living continues to stagnate. On the other hand, income or salary is stagnant.
"The government has provided financial incentives in the past and made ministries deal with low birth rates. But birth rates are still falling," said David Boling, Japan analyst at Eurasia Group.
For Katahira Kazumi, a mother of a 4 year old child, one child is enough. "We are surviving by cutting our savings now. A second child is not on our minds," he said.
In 2021, 5,800 Japanese couples participated in a survey with more than half saying they are not having any more children for financial reasons.
Matsuda Shigeki, professor of sociology at Chukyo University, told NHK that the Japanese government's financial support is inadequate, only about half or even a third of what major Western countries provide.
On the other hand, women in Japan are allegedly increasingly reluctant to marry and have children. Moreover, many of them prefer to pursue a career. The number of working young women has increased dramatically.
The low marriage and birth rates may also be due to the traditional role for Japanese women that has not changed much, where they are expected to do household chores and take care of children.
As we quote from Asia Times, the persistence of unequal gender roles in the household at a time of booming economic opportunities for women has made balancing work and family life very difficult for married women. That's what diminishes the appeal of marriage in Japan.