The Decline of Japan's Birth Rate

With the arrival of the Allied Occupation, the United States of America introduced many reforms to Japanese society. “Equality of the sexes, woman suffrage of 1946, all inequalities in laws was ended and high schools became coed” (Friedman). Since the 1950’s women have sought more individualized means to provide for themselves with a sense of well-being. The most evolving aspect of post modernization has been women’s attitudes toward marriage and the family system. Women have started to wait till later in life to marry and have placed education and or work as top priorities. Once married, however, many women now choice to continue to work especially after they work of child birth. The women’s role in the family is evolving and become more

Evidence of the cultural change that Japan experienced after WWII happened first in family dynamics. Children where no longer taught the ideas of a constitutional monarchy, but of democracy (O’ Donnell 3). From the state houses to school buildings, this form of government was implemented throughout the land and replaced the former concepts of the time. This change influenced the elderly the most. For years and years, these men and women were educated on the

In the countryside, less than half a million out of a total rural population of eight hundred million were receiving pensions in 1981. Individuals and families who live in rural areas rely on their off spring to be part of their working staff. If such families are only allowed to have one child, they much prefer to have males because they believe they are of more use for jobs that require physical labor. (Hong, 1987) If a Chinese family who is not secure financially does indeed have a daughter than she will most likely not marry, Hong explains. “For economic reasons, families with daughters are unlikely to let them go to grooms villages to live because they will be needed not only for the parents old age security but also to boost the life- long earning potential of the household.” (Hong 1987 pg. 320)

As many people know, the Second World War changed the role of Japanese women. Before the war they used to be stay home mothers, and they had duties such as, keeping the house clean, and taking care of their husband and children. During the world war II, women changed their roles. Because a significant amount of man went to war, many women had to take their jobs in order to keep production in the country. Women started taking jobs like arms factories and coalmines. (1) In addition, new opportunities arise at that time for women because they could even join the army. After the World War II, women keep their freedom when it comes to having the right to choose whether they were going to work or be an stay home mother. Moreover, they also gain more

Ayako Komine speaks in depth about how Japanese immigration policy in settlement oriented. This meaning that immigrants are not encouraged to neither become citizens, nor stay in the country for and extended amount of time. The paper continues to discuss the types of immigrants Japan would accept into the country. Nikkeijin and Zainichi were described as the only type of immigrants Japan would take in that were considered t be unskilled, because they would increase labor while still allowing Japan to hold on to its homogeneity. It later discusses how Japan will accept skilled workers in order to increase certain aspects of it labor force such as the fields of science and engineering. What this paper showed was how japan has tried to balance taking in new immigrants into the country while trying to keep their homogeneity in place for

Japan’s unemployment rate of about 4% opposed to the U.S. unemployment rate of close to 10%. Even the financial debt to GDP ration is an advantage, and debt in the private sector has not increased unlike the U.S. and European countries, (Time, 2009). In addition, since Japan is a huge exporter and with the U.S. demand going downward, the international balances and growth declined especially as the dollar value dropped and the yen surged. •

According to Fukuyama, Japan’s low crime and divorce rates are due to a law that barred women from working “more than six hours of overtime per week.” Thankfully, Lowry has enough sense to realize how unfair that system is. However Lowry is so caught up in his war against feminism that he fails to address some major flaws with his argument. The first flaw being that he over simplifies extremely complex issues. Crime and divorce are some of the most complex issues of our

Japan is considered to be the least ethnically diverse society in the world. One caveat to note is that this is looking at the Japanese people as one ethnicity when really Japan originates from multiple different tribes and to this day the Ainu and Okinawa are recognized as ethnic minorities. Japan does also have some other ethnic minorities such as Americans and Filipinos but they account for a very small portion of the population. A special report by the United Nations in 2005 found that Japan has profound and deep racism and xenophobia. Despite a lack of diversity, Japan has experienced a significant boom in the last 50 years and is one of the wealthiest nations in the Asian-Pacific region. The challenge Japan faces is different and that is the aging work force combined with decline in birth rate. While at first this may seem like a separate issue from diversity this challenge could be addressed with immigration. Not only would Japan immediately have an expanded work force but the new cultural values and ethnicity would likely influence birth rates as

Today in Japan, a reinvention is necessary. There are many struggles with the young generation, the old generation, and catastrophic events which should be addressed. Specifically, the Japanese economy has been experiencing deflation for the past twenty years. In an article, the results of the deflation were described. The authors said, “Because of fewer available jobs and lower

Heidi Gottfried, author of Gender, Work, and Economy, states, “Unraveling the logical puzzle can offer clues to how the reproductive bargain within a country, structures options and actions related to the gender division of labor in the household, and its consequences for women’s labor force participation in the wage labor market” (105). She discusses that Japan’ low birth rate does not affect the low labor participation by women. Whereas, Sweden’s steady birthrates results in high labor force participation. Japanese women tend to participate in the labor force at high rates only if the birthrate is low. “The fertility decisions are sensitive to economic and political factors and context” (106). If women has two children, then she is willing

Ninety per cent of the Japan’s population was made up of the Peasant class. They worked as farmers in the agricultural estates of the Daimyos and kept a part of the whole production that come up. In that way, they met their personal needs.

Female rates of participation in academia are shockingly low in most countries around the world, but Japan was recently found to be the lowest amongst 400 of the top universities in the world (Grove, 2016). There are a number of reasons for this, but the difficulties of having children and maintaining a career seems to be one of the major reasons that women drop out of the workforce. This paper will argue that offering greater flexibility in the work place, especially regarding professional level part-time work, will lead to higher rates of participation in the work force by working mothers, and in the long term enable these women to return to full-time work. The author will also make some suggestions as to how governments, employers, and co-workers

Karoshi is a Japanese term that refers to death from overwork. The fact that this type of death is commonplace enough to get its own designated term is alarming and calls into question the extreme work practices of the Japanese culture. Although American society is not yet as intense as Japanese society, with the ever-increasing demands of the workplace, the first American death from overwork might not be too far off. Work is taking over people’s lives and many workers, especially those in white collar jobs, are finding it difficult to strike a balance between their work and their home life. In many cases, the family is the institution that suffers the brunt of the consequences as its demands are pushed aside by work demands. In the wake of this crisis, some were quick to place the blame on various members of society, among them Anne-Marie Slaughter and Richard Dorment. In her essay “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All”, Slaughter places the majority of the blame on men, particularly on the patriarchal structure of the workplace that leaves little room for having a family life. In response to her essay, Dorment wrote “Why Men still Can’t Have It All” in which he asserts that men cannot be responsible since they too must sacrifice their family life for their work. While they both offer compelling arguments, they fail to take into account the role of a capitalist society. Because of its lack of paid family leave, the stigma associated with being a parent, and its overwork

The Japanese economy, the 2nd largest in the world, accounts for 7.1% Global World GDP, at US$4.6 triliion and a per capita income of approximately US$33,550 (World Bank 2006). As a result of globalisation, literacy levels are at 99% and the general living standards of the

Suggestions have been made as to how to offset the decrease in population—increasing the immigrant population as well as incentives attempt to increase the birth rate. According to the living and human development index, Japan has very high standard of living in addition to the highest life expectancy and the infant mortality rate is 3rd lowest.