Japan fragt junge Leute, warum sie angesichts der Bevölkerungskrise nicht heiraten | Japan

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/19/japan-asks-young-people-views-marriage-population-crisis

38 comments

  1. At least they’re asking people now. Before it was one old guy determining what was wrong and making up a policy.

  2. People are always at bloody work, that’s why. Please take a day or two off Japan. Four day work week, for everyone.

  3. Less working hours for same pay, housing. It’s not rocket science.

  4. From the article:

    > Surveys have shown that many young Japanese are reluctant to marry or have families because of concerns about the high cost of living in big cities, a lack of good jobs, and a work culture that makes it difficult for both partners to have jobs, or for women to return to full-time employment after having children.

    At least they have now a “survey” that confirms what everyone already knows.

  5. > High cost of living in big cities

    > Lack of good jobs

    > Work culture that makes it difficult for both partners to have jobs, or for women to return to full-time employment after having children.

  6. Money, you fucking old fossils. Young people need money.

  7. No amount of surveys will change the fact that in Japan, both workplace and marriage culture are toxic to men.

    The *herbivore man* phenomenon did not appear out of the blue because men are lazy, as much as Japanese society would like to say.

    I’ve had too many colleagues from Japan who fled the country in search of a normal life.

  8. boomers told you to work hard because that’s what worked for them. so millennials doubled down and worked to breaking point. Still no promotions or raises for 90% of them.

    So when its time to start a family everyone is thinking “I cant even get my career to make sense – I’m in no position to have children”

  9. See a term I’ve made called “inflation babies.”

    Inflation erodes the fabric of society, creating widespread economic instability and social disruption. Initially, technological advancements were expected to reduce the workweek to 7-15 hours due to deflationary effects. This trend persisted until the 1970s when inflation was increasingly used as a tool by financial institutions. Jeff Booth describes inflation as “theft,” stealing time and money by reducing the value of currency over time, thereby undermining societal structures.

    One significant demographic impact of inflation is the concept of “inflation babies,” where economic pressures lead people to have fewer children. In economic terms, children can be viewed as future cash flows, contributing to the economy and providing support in various forms, such as labor and innovation. The present value (PV) of these future cash flows is diminished by inflation, which erodes the purchasing power and economic stability necessary for raising children.

    The present value of future cash flows is calculated by discounting them back to the present using an appropriate discount rate. In an inflationary environment, the discount rate increases, leading to a lower present value of future cash flows. This makes the perceived economic benefits of having children less attractive, as the costs associated with raising children rise while the future economic returns are discounted more heavily.

    Jeff Booth argues that while technological progress should reduce costs and increase the value of time, inflationary policies counteract these benefits. This creates a financial environment where the costs of essential goods and services, such as housing, education, and healthcare, rise disproportionately. As a result, families face greater economic uncertainty and higher costs, leading to decisions to have fewer children.

    Thus, persistent inflation not only disrupts economic stability but also reduces the perceived economic value of having children. This trend, exacerbated by higher living costs and economic uncertainty, contributes to declining birth rates, placing long-term strains on population growth and economic sustainability.

  10. Government can bemoan, complain, bitch about young people not marrying and have baby when it failed to provide support to allow that to happen.

  11. Is there actually a proven way to ethically increase the birthrate?

  12. Governments Of The World: “Young people, why arent you making more babies?”

    Young People: “Cost of living is too high, house prices are too high, jobs dont pay enough and work/ life balance is terrible”.

    Governments Of The World: “I heard “give us a one-off payment for having a baby”. You guys all heard that too, right?”.

  13. Typically fucking boomers in every fucking country:

    “We’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas!”

    Complete fucking wastes need to die and let the world move on.

  15. Japan and Korea know that it’s cost of living and overwork thats causing people to stop having kids.

    Acting like they care is just political playacting.

    I assume they just plan on shrinking into a late stage capitalism, pseudo feudalist soceity. That society will be .01 percent who own property and businesses versus the peasant working class that will be traded around like livestock

  16. Governments: Makes everything unaffordable

    Also Governments: Where baby?

  17. Knowing the Japanese government they will argue about this then do nothing

  18. Money, high rent, meager salaries, long commutes, ridiculous work hour expectations and so much more. I’m not sure how the Japanese government hasn’t been able to look at this from a meta-view for themselves to see that the factors are incredibly obvious.

    I had a Japanese friend who mentioned that his father tried to get back home in time to celebrate his 6th birthday in the evening, but his father’s boss asked him to stay and drink with the company group afterwards. I’m sure many of you know what it would mean to say no to this. He wasn’t home until past midnight. It’s a work culture that isn’t built to help foster family growth.

  19. Bro is going to be forced to have sex in a prison cell to make babies

  20. The gender discrimination doesn’t work really well. In Japan it’s impossible to have a career as a woman after a marriage and having kids. Therefore you need to choose one.

  21. The government demands more bodies for the meat grinder but refuses to acknowledge or address any real root cause issues people face that have prevented them from starting families.
    We’ve been seeing this type of narrative in several countries recently not just Japan.

    I don’t think nations have yet realized though that this is going to ultimately be a costly misplay for birthrates going forward. Transparently viewing your citizens as human capital causes those citizens to become increasingly jaded over time.

    A lot of people have been looking at the state of our world recently and have been asking themselves if it is even a place they would want a child of theirs to grow up in.

    Imagine being a young Japanese person doing these insane hours just to keep yourself alive, what that would cost you in terms of your personal life and being painfully aware the government never actually gave a shit about how messed up this entire situation is. That’s not even mentioning what they go through at school just to get these jobs.

    It’s not as simple as just reducing the work hours now in my opinion. By not taking action sooner governments have sent a powerful message to regular people that can’t be taken back so easily. The social contract has been neglected.

    Why should any citizen care about giving their nation children if that nation doesn’t care about its citizens?

  22. Because they are not stupid to ruin their life with taking care of kids for 20 years like I was…dont do it!! Good for them

  24. I really can’t think of a good reason to want kids.

    All my spare resources (time and money) would be going to the kids.

    I’m not done living myself thank you very much.

  25. Haha wait until you read about [the dating app](https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/s/zMzsVo5Hrh). Tokyo government released this as a solution.

    Step one sign a contract that you wanna get married and have children and not just be f buddies.
    Step two submit your yearly income and tax summary document to prove your income to potential golddigger /suitors
    Step three have a meeting with city hall official to make sure you are not a creep
    Step four join app/profit?

  26. I think it’s more complicated than simply economics. Nature gave us a sex drive with less focus on a procreation drive. With birth control, procreation boils down to social influences.

  27. Maybe remote work should be enforced. So people can move to rural areas and still are able to make decent living. That will also create an economic activity expansion to upgrade rural areas

  28. r/WorldNews Obsession with Japan & South Korea’s birthrate continues…

    This topic is posted almost monthly I really don’t think this problem is unique to Japan yet it’s always the one mentioned.

  29. Because they have to work their asses off just to make enough to afford a tiny apartment, and ramen noodles every night. I understand why they aren’t working, getting married and having kids. The Japanese government has been pro business for so long, they have screwed over the Japanese middle class. Now 30 years old still live with their parents because they can’t afford to live on their own. So getting married and having children is not even under consideration. They watched their middle class parents literally work themselves to death, just to watch the Japanese government stall the economy for 30 years. Worldwide 50% of kids 30 years or younger, live with their parents still. So this is not unique to Japan, the rest of us are in the same boat, we are just behind Japan. Right now in the USA most people can’t afford to own their own home. That affects how many new families we get. It’s so obvious what is going on in Japan, and around the world, I can’t believe anyone is seriously asking this question.

  30. Canr speak for Japan, but as an American in his mid 30s who has been married 10+’ years. Lots of reasons our generation arent having kids. Heres a couple.

    Money/financial uncertainty

    Past generations have fucked this planets ecosystem into a coma, we dont want to bring new life into the coming hellscape we sre being left with.

  31. Not just Japan, what worries me is it’s actually happening everywhere

  32. >The government has been seeking experts’ views and now wants those of single people.

    Man, nothing spells out Japanese government incompetence like the fact that geriatric bureaucrats have been wringing their hands about the declining marriage and birthrate for decades and it has only just now occurred to them to *ask* the young people instead of just guessing about the reasons amongst themselves.

  33. I feel like Japan officials have been asking this question for years now and yet nothing has changed.

  34. it’s like Idiocracy where the sensible people have less or no children. Maybe Japan’s problem is they have more sensible people than the west.

  35. A lot of the reasons cited can be said for a lot of countries all over the globe. It certainly applies to Canada

  36. Japan will throw everyone’s retirement funds and tax money into unsuccesful quirky ideas to improve natality instead of moving an inch on immigration and work/life balance improvements.

  37. i bet 50hr work weeks have something to do with it. Want more babies? give people more free time to get and bang.

  38. TL:DR – Shit is too expensive. Same reason it’s always been.

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