Births in Japan hit record low as government warns crisis at ‘critical state’
Births in Japan hit record low as government warns crisis at ‘critical state’
Birthrate continues to fall as young people increasingly reluctant to have children due to bleak job prospects, cost of living and work culture
Birthrate continues to fall as young people increasingly reluctant to have children due to bleak job prospects, cost of living and work culture
The number of babies born in Japan last year fell for an eighth straight year to a new low, government data has shown, and a top official says it is critical for the country to reverse the trend in the coming half-dozen years.
The 758,631 babies born in Japan in 2023 were a 5.1% decline from the previous year, according to the Health and Welfare Ministry on Tuesday. It was the lowest number of births since Japan started compiling the statistics in 1899.
The number of marriages fell by 5.9% to 489,281 couples, falling below a half million for the first time in 90 years – one of the key reasons for the declining births. Out-of-wedlock births are rare in Japan because of family values based on a paternalistic tradition.
Surveys show that many younger Japanese balk at marrying or having families, discouraged by bleak job prospects, the high cost of living that rises at a faster pace than salaries and corporate cultures that are not compatible with having both parents work. Crying babies and children playing outside are increasingly considered a nuisance, and many young parents say they often feel isolated.
Japan still culturally racist to non-japanese in work, living, and even being able to visit certain establishments?
They still against interracial marriage? And interracial marriage to a Japanese is like... Being Korean or Filipino?
28You're forgetting their attitudes towards people of Japanese descent born in Brazil. From what I heard they don't have much love for them either.
18yeah i love how they looked at the problems with racial tension in other countries and thought the best way to deal with that issue is avoid it completely.
cant have racism if racial purity!
9Given enough time, the purity of their people will eventually become antithetical to government programs for growing their population.
6Have known several half Japanese who were treated with hatred by the Japanese grandmother.
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Those babies/kids outside are a nuisance! I cannot get enough sleep for my bleak underpaying job - Average Japanese person.
27Also 40hr a week minimum, followed by culturally expected overtime, and "totally optional" post-work events that failure to attend reflects poorly on you
7
In other parts of the world, we get around this problem by farming immigrants for cheap labour.
I can't imagine the pressure the Japanese government is under to "open the floodgates" so that capitalism can metastasize.
It's also amazing the lengths that the wealthy will go to to inflict misery rather than imorothe lives of everyone.
22Japan is in a weird spot. They have weebs that would break arm and leg just to get in there, but the people are very natonalistic\xenophobic and reluctant to change.
Right now they can't attract anyone elese as they have outdated bureaucracy and toxic work culture.
17They actually have a somewhat open door policy for the weebs through JET. If your an American with a college degree than your welcome in Japan. There just aren't that many of them and those people also don't tend to have children.
There are a ton of people in the Philippines and S.E.A that would do anything to get to Japan even if the work is hard because the standard of living is so much better, much like Mexicans and central Americans wanting to come to the u.s. They would also be more willing to start families. Like the u.s. though they don't like brown people and only let a limited amount of them in legally.
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What intelligent pair of humans would have a child with the climate apocalypse looming on the horizon?
16I would like humanity to continue, even if it means the next generation has to solve problems we created.
13Why does humanity need to continue? Not being an ass, but I don’t get the moral panic around that.
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Even without that, kids are expensive, housing is expensive, and women are expected to pull double duty working and caring for the kids. And then your kid gets to go to cram school and end up in the same work-sleep-repeat hell that you've been in your whole life.
Even without climate change I don't know why anyone would have kids.
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Perhaps we should fix the problems that are leading to people not wanting kids? Nah! Let's just force people to have children while we keep making everything worse!
11Is it a surprise that the world’s governments have created a nightmare hellscape and people don’t want to bring new life into it? Seems like they will throw everything at the problem except for an actual solution.
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