Japan is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia, recording over 24 million visitors in 2016 alone. The island nation also plays a key role in the global economy as third-largest economy in the world by nominal GDP. Despite these optimistic statistics, Japan, a nation of 126 million people, is heading towards a demographic disaster.
Japan is the tenth most populated nation on Earth, but in the next 50 years, Japan is expected to lose almost a third of its population due to an aging population and low birth rate. Japan has a fertility rate of approximately1.4, which is not even close to a replacement rate of 2.1 despite efforts from the government. Two reasons as to why the birth rate is so disastrously low are Japan’s societal and cultural norms and beliefs. Traditional Japanese society stresses men to be the ones to support the family with income, though today most women also work full-time positions. Although the unemployment rate is low, there has been a steep rise in those taking unstable jobs with no benefits. Therefore, people are taking multiple positions that are supposed to be temporary and offer no benefits. This heavy financial cost puts a strain on marriage and childbearing. Furthermore, many see graduates from universities who are unable to land stable careers at major corporations as failures, leading to depression as well. Women are also taking temporary jobs that have erratic schedules and abysmal pay. Even those with "good" positions suffer as well. Corporations, knowing the fact that stable careers are at times excruciatingly difficult to come by, exploit their grateful employees by overworking them sometimes to the point of depression, suicide, ill health and a wide array of other issues. This overworked stress fosters an environment in which people are so exhausted and have no desire to even process the idea of marriage and children. In fact, Some men who work in irregular jobs live with their parents on welfare or even rent small living spaces in Internet cafes. Of course, these are not healthy atmospheres for married couples to raise their offspring. Furthermore, an alarming number of people are not in romantic relationships at all. One study showed that 76% of men and 60% of women in their 20s are not involved in a romantic relationship. With this information in hand, Japan is on a rapidly aging course, with less and less children being born and an increasing death rate. If this problem is not addressed with great seriousness, in a little less than a hundred years Japan could have a little over 51 million citizens, a far cry from the current population of 126 million, which is already declining as we speak and has been for years. The old will eventually outnumber the young, with the smaller younger generation needing to carry the financial and social weight of supporting the elderly. With an aging population and a declining fertility rate, there will be a shortage in the workforce, negatively affecting Japan's economic standing. This is just the tip of the iceberg of an abysmal demographic future for Japan. The Japanese government has attempted to address this issue, but there may be more drastic steps needed to fully solve or even control this situation. In response, the government has proposed and attempted to implement several. One possible solution is for increased immigration, but there is vocal opposition from members of the government as well as parts of the general public. Instead, some proposals that have been enacted are an increased number of childcare facilities as well as some consideration into the subject of creating interest-free loans for higher education to lessen the stress many young Japanese people face in their 20s and 30s. Furthermore, there has also been thought in financially helping temporary workers who are burdened by taxes. Despite this, the birth rate is still at an alarmingly low level and well below the replacement rate. There are several courses the Japanese government can take in remedy. Pressingly, the government must also tackle the sometimes-harmful work culture. Many people are putting in excessive hours of work each week, leaving no time for children. In fact, an average Japanese worker puts in 80 hours of overtime is per month. This can fracture relationships or not even allow any romantic relationships to be fostered. Currently, there are also not many options for those who want children. For expecting mothers, maternity only lasts 14 weeks at 60% pay. For the fathers, there is no time off at all. The political and cultural consensus is that there should be less social stigma being placed on women. Women who have children are seen more as a burden and it is much more difficult for them to get promoted in the workplace since they are also spending more time with their progeny, which can also lead to issues such as less pay. Unfortunately, females make 30% less than their male counterparts. With this social stigma being known, women are choosing their careers over children. Some political scientists and researchers also hold the belief that subsidizing the cost for companies to hire females will be beneficial, so that they will not be seen as a burden. Finally, Breaking the cultural norm of overworking oneself, sometimes to the point of death (known as karoshi) as something that should be rewarded must also be addressed. That is an unhealthy way of living one's life and this greatly contributes to the declining population. Either way, if the goal of Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of the nation of Japan, to raise the birth rate to 1.8 from 1.41 by the year 2025 is to be fulfilled, Japanese society must change drastically.
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