How Japan deals with its birth rate hitting a record low | DW News
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- Опубликовано: 27 мар 2024
- With birth rates dropping in Japan, a company there has announced it is stopping production of diapers for babies --- as demand is not as high anymore. Instead, it's refocusing on the growing market: diapers for adults. It's a surprising piece of data that shines a light on a serious problem. The number of births in Japan dropped to a new low last year, with more than twice as many deaths as new babies born. If things continue like that, Japan's population could shrink by 30 percent over the next 45 years. The country explores some futuristic solutions to its demographic crisis.
0:58 DW speaks to Jennifer Robertson, professor of anthropology and history of art at the University of Michigan and the author of the book "Robo sapiens japanicus: Robots, Gender, Family, and the Japanese Nation”
#japan #birthrate #demographics
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Education and birth control are key to reducing poverty and hunger.
Having a child that you can not provide for yourself is cruel and irresponsible.
Governments and corporations want more people for cheap labor but don't care about the quality of life people have.
You`ve got the point ! How weird and irony that wealthy and able couples do not want their kids while poor and immature couples keep producing their kids
Exactly! People need to stop having kids and feeding the rich. It's their problem that the economy will collapse because they won't have cheap labor.
So true! They just want more tax payers and slaves to feed the capitalist machine so that rich people can have their mansions secluded away from all the trouble.
Really beee aa?
Hmm.. Peter Zeihan.. Hmmm.. 😁
Just make growing children affordable, and give people time they need for that, Japanese have none.
Why is it that a poor country like the Philippines doesn't have a fertility problem but all the Filipinos want to move to Japan for a better quality of life yet the Japanese aren't having kids even though they are richer?
Well, actually, money and time have not stopped people from having children in the past. Why does it now? In previous centuries, in European countries, the US, Japan, people worked long hard days for little money and they had lots of children, many of which didn't live beyond their fifth birthday. If what you're saying is correct (and it might well be) then education is what is preventing people from having babies. They are educated enough to realise that having a baby when you're poor and work long hours makes no sense. So, basically, education is the problem....
@@annerigby4400 A more roundabout way of saying it is, an this is especially true for East Asian countries like Japan "Kids are almost exclusively born to married couples in Japan, almost no children are born to single parents. Thus it's the decline in marriage rates that have caused the fertility problem. So does more education decrease marriage rates?"
@@Qilin_Pegasus The usual stuff. Money, education, reproduction rights, and time all play a role. Japan being richer is an oversimplification, the cost of raising kids and the dynamics surrounding it are different.
@@Qilin_Pegasus Well, seeing that marriage may be seen as a first step towards raising a family, then if education is the reason for low-birth rate, then yes, it is also possibly the reason for low marriage rates, right?
I get why Japan's low birthrate is important, but as a millennial; let me tell you they aren't the only populace who don't want a baby.
True. It's not even a surprise in this stage.
70 hour workweek over there, they don't have time to raise kids. Also, just like in many other countries the rent prices are horrifying. So they have a double tap of no work/life balance as well as the same financial issues that make people in the west decide not to have kids.
As a millennial with a wife and kids, I feel so sad when I hear my peers talk like this. Honestly, heartbreaking.
I’m a Gen Z and I want kids!!
And it's a big, BIG problem.
Japan's birth rate is actually the highest in East Asia.
South Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore have much lower birth rates than Japan and are more serious.
base on CIA official record (from thier web site, births/1,000 population) Japan 6.9, South Korea 7, Taiwan 7.3, Hong Kong 7.9, China 9.7, Singapore 8.9
But Japans has been going for significantly longer than the others
If you look at the size of all these countries vs the population density, then Japan is in deep trouble.
@@arunaugustine4938 Japan's inhabitable area is smaller than that of Germany, UK, France and others.
@@masamiyalecothis explains why japan and korea are close, both have small area.
Let's be honest, migration hasn't worked perfectly in other countries, and the culture clash with Japan might be too much.
At the end of it all, if people don't want kids that's that. The economy, similar to many others, will struggle for a while (decades/generations), until the population goes down to a more manageable size. We should just allow that to happen and manage it as much as we can (probably legalising areas such as assisted dying would help with everyone's burden a bit).
Not true
It will be a very big crisis
If they don’t have kids no point of doing business with Japan anymore
NO BIRTH, NO SUFFERING!
EXACTLY!!!
I definitely second that.
As a Antinatalist myself.
I agree! ❤
South Korea has the same problem
worse
its worse in korea
This is how serious this problem is getting all their technology and economy couldn't solve this problem 😢😢😢😢😢
It’s cultural, which is a very hard problem to solve for any nation.
Over 100 million people is still a baffling number of people for a country that small, considering countries like ones in Scandinavia have roughly 5 - 10 million people per country.
Alarmism. Aging population is happening everywhere, not just Japan.
Not everywhere, mostly devopled countries.
True but as they are ahead, everyone is curious to see how Japan will deal with this issue.
True, but its far worse in Japan than western nations.
Nobody said it's not a problem in other countries.
@@Exxperiment626 Overdeveloped* countries
Life in the developed country is getting more and more expensive due to bailouts , money printing why would you take on a family if you are not even sure how you can look after yourself .
most are 2-6 paychecks from being homeless, add a medical problem your 2 checks away from being homeless.
Meanwhile, in Africa, many children are still being born.
A low birthrate is not a problem, it just means that pensions will get slashed and old people will have to live on less. There is no great riddle.
Those on pensions will be a large voting block
Old people outvote the younger ones, they will never allow for pensions to become less, they will rather take more from working young people.
The part you're forgetting is that old people vote and they outnumber the young people. I
How come it isn`t a problem when the number of those eligible to work is decreasing? this directly leads to declining tax revenues.
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.
No one wants to pay child support
Compared to other countries, child support in Japan is not that expensive.
Imagine if your parents had thought the same.
@@soundscape26no one wants to be born.
@@soundscape26 Imagine if men could also opt of being a parent and have the same right without being financially burdened for the next 18 years. Men shouldn't be forced to pay for something women ultimately can abort and destroy.
Is this news or a comedy show?
News obviously.. everyone will soon own one or more personalised robots according to Elon Musk
Comedy 😁🤣🤣🤣
👍Society IS the comedy show.
government public relation
No we're in the middle of the biggest depopulation agenda in history 🙄😖
What's with the question mark?
Gonna need that massage robot
Honestly it's good that people overall are having less children. Humanity has exceeded the carrying capacity of the planet. The only reason anyone cares is because the boomers are retiring and tax revenues will fall. This sucks for older generations, as there will be less funds for their care. That said less people is good for our species.
Japan has been too crowded for decades.
Population needs to be in balance with jobs, resources, nature and the environment. Having a bigger population in any country than the country can support makes no sense. Access to food, water, shelter, energy and jobs should guide population levels. The worlds population is still expected to add another billion people to feed, clothe and produce pollution. Humans are crowding out all other species of plants and animals. Education and birth control are key to reducing poverty and hunger. Having a child that you can not provide for yourself is cruel and irresponsible. We need solutions not just sympathy. Endless population growth is not sustainable on a finite planet. Every country needs to "TRY" to be more self sufficient. When there are not enough resources to sustain a population something has to give. Countries need to focus on quality of life for their citizens and not just quantity of life for cheap labor. Why import fossil fuels when wind and solar energy can be produced locally and solar energy can power electric vehicles. We need solutions not just sympathy.
There is no need for that many humans in the age of automation.
For capitalism to function...And capitalism exists to serve what purpose..? Obviously no purpose, just to grow like cancer. So either you think life is a net good and should exist for the sake of life itself, or you think life is a net negative and shouldn't exist, but it shouldn't exist because capitalism doesn't need life to exist, doesn't make sense to me.
Japan is Most Richest and Educated People in the World. No Religious Extremist or Riots . Good luck Japan. 🇯🇵
Japan is going to show us how to transition from standard growth model to a new future where humans are rarer and much more of their needs are supplied by technology
Talking about Robots when the problems should be the topic and fixing it.
He's a lot to ask, she's a lot to say, they don't come together at all and in the end, although the experience has been kind of cringe, you learned a terrible lot and got a even more questions to follow up. So all in all pretty much like a your average panel at a science conference.
Can I recomend "The Windup Girl" by Paolo Bacigalupi, the central character is a discarded bio robot created by Japan to deal with the need for more workers.
This is the future we're creating for ourselves.
Our future was rigged from the start don’t you start with your bs
The record low birth rate is a great news for many people who actually live in Japan.
Makes it much more expensive to pay for the elderly.
What on Earth are you smoking?
PLEASE READ ABOUT JAPANESE UNIT 731 ITS BRUTAL!
They need Growth ❤ Please Japan 🙏 do it for Everyone ❤
they gonna do something in west cannot expect, which is true solution. "growth" is just obsession at this point, where did obsession for innovations go :D
Lol. Singularity. We can't even agree on how people are supposed to be, how are we going to agree on how sentient robots should be?
Median age for Japan is 50 while China is 39
In away it's good to having a robot baby, because it's going to listen and it doesn't coast daily also you don't need to pay child support 🤔
Young people will end up adopting robot babies, because the Rich of the planet have made the lives of young workers on miserable wages impossible to afford a family life. Thanks to the 🤑
She is totally wrong about humanoid robots. They will serve for societal good as the primary use case
Shrinking good. This is the opposite of a crisis: this is salvation. Robots to the rescue.
Think most countries are the same. Everyone has to work. Money pressure.
What an utterly depressing future we're facing.
Depressing! I think it's amazing that the rich are panicking because cheap labor will disappear.
All thanks to women
Not depressing at all, we'll manage.
In developed countries, women have the choice to raise children. Do you think it is good that in the past women had to have children unconditionally?
@@user-mv5bd4lx4u That's how biology works, regardless of how we feel about it
There is absolutely nothing wrong with reducing the human birthrate on this planet. We just surpassed 8 BILLION people and the earth isnt in that great of shape.
when your country is reliant on population growth, you failed in policy
The fact that the leading forces of the Japanese economy think this is a solution shows just how much human life is devalued in our economies. The causes of the demographic crisis aren't some weird quirk like Hikikomoris or otaku culture, its socio-economic pressures that have been building since the 1970s. Its economic inequality and gender inequality that stopping young Japanese from having families or having more than one child. Ask any Japanese feminist or sociologist and they will point out the same
Wages are been stagnant for decades and the economic situation values stability for seniority rather than opportunity for newcomers. This means rather than fire the old, the young face hiring freezes or take precarious entry level jobs that dont match their experience of living expenses. Most young Japanese just get by with TWO incomes, and often have to work multiple long jobs. Economic mobility is downward and staying out of poverty is the goal rather than moving upward in these conditions.
Gender inequality is among the worst in Japan, and it directly impacts the decision of many prospective mothers. As mentioned family required 2 incomes in order to stay afloat in Japan, so possible mothers are put in a impossible position where if they stop working to take care of a child, their family goes into poverty and if they return to work (if they havent been laid off) there is no one to take care of the child, as most dont have the money to afford childcare. In addition, the social responsibility of home making and child raising is treated solely as the responsibility of women in Japan much to the frustration of all women involved. The average Japanese mother surveyed says that she gets about 3-4 hours of sleep per night, as she has to take care of the kids, take care of the husband, probably work at least a part time job to ensure theres enough food, take care of the house, and so on. Men arent hapless bystanders also because of Japanese work culture, as most are stuck at work commitments well into the night and dont have much time to help raise kids or tend to the house even if they tried.
Rather than try to restructure the economy to ensure prosperity for the young is cultivated, push to restrain Japanese work culture and hours, or promote more social services like child care, the Japanese government and leading figures rather uphold the unsustainable status quo than foster human well being.
Most Japanese had migrated to other countries like Singapore and Malaysia...
It seems that more Japanese are considering migration to other countries..
It seems that the Japanese government is either tone deaf or not addressing the actual issues why nobody is having children.
But ofcourse to maintain societal order based on the older Japanese conservatives they have to do it the old ways in modern days..
いや
It doesn’t help when more young Japanese adults choose their career over having a family. It also doesn’t help when more Japanese men are getting cold feet over getting married.
Why marry? It will end in divorce
I like that Japan doesn't accept immigration. I can travel there and not feel at home.
We rather welcome robots than cheap, low quality immigrants.
Japan's population was 70 million in 1945 and exploded after WWII to 120 million today. There're more people in inhabitable area than in Germany, UK or most of countries in the world. The problem is the demographic composition which is largely elderly. The government is importing cheap labour without the consent of the sovereign people, but we should accept the population decrease to some extent, and invest in mechanization and automation to save human resources.
Having kids is overrated.I'd rather order pizza.
There are more pets than babies in Tokyo. I didn’t see people enjoying cat robots although they tried to create the events at the coffee shops.
The humanoid robots are coming, it is just that they may be a few years still off.
We call on the Chinese government not to engage in decoupling and chain breaking! Open China Internet! Allow our Internet enterprises to enter China! Stop restricting the free flow of funds into and out of China!
I think a lot of get a bad feeling for what the future holds. It's better we live it up and have fun while we can instead of bringing in more tax payers
Another "Weird Japan" report from western media.
Find another way to make babies
Baby factories!
How dystopian
@@ceecurs How actual reality.
Development of artificial wombs isn't too far away. If we start making babies in those like in The Matrix or Attack of the Clones, I hope we can find a way to raise them.
Not surprised
robot girlfriends, mistresses and concubines!
Mad ting!
The economy is man-made. Japan will figure out a man-made solution for a man-made system and then other nations will build on it.
Robot baby. Robot Asian babies.
Asking why is JP not opening its border to mass immigration... as if the west and specially Europe WERE being able to make it work out! Ha, what a joker!
IF the Japanese population falls by 30% in the next 45 years, that will be of immense benefit to the Japanese then alive. Japan is a grossly over-populated country and fewer people will mean far more room to move around, less crowded roads and public transport systems, more room for a house of one's own instead of paying sky high prices or rents for tiny flats/apartments. We keep hearing this rubbish about pensions. If you are going to live for another 3 years, then it won't hurt you to work for another year, will it. You will still have 2 years to do bugger all. Never mind the pensions what about the savings in child health costs, child care, education etc. Children do not sow, neither do they reap, they merely consume. You show me any country with a high birth rate, behind the public show and bling of the rich, I will show you abject poverty.
Idk,but if there is no young ppl there is no future,no new ideas and no one to look after the older population...😢no,grandbabies,no great grandkids & no one to carry on traditions & culture....
You can't fix demography if you don't fix housing!
Build homes in masses!
Just individuals allowed to buy. No investors or companies!
Norway has 1X, Mercedes has just put Apollo on the factory floor, BMW is investing in Figure, Boston Dynamics, the RUclips Channel Pro Robots... It's not theory or only Japanese... This is in the very near future and actually now. Nvidia and Microsoft are building new computers and data centers that will have the entire internet on a single server rack using less energy than today's servers. I can be available for interview.
next big thing
diaper for robots
There is misinformation. Japanese government isn't taking advantage of robot. I haven't seen these robots in my living, as a matter of fact. government has accepting many immigrants rather than using technology to solve aging society. many immigrants saturate anywhere in Japan.
Nothing lasts forever not even the human race,everything that has a beginning has an end.
Well man created this problem in the first place. The solution is not rocket science yet we still prefer taking the capitalistic route.
When you have less people in your country you have less people to feed, enough work for everyone, more space for everyone and enough houses !
That's nonsense who do you think will take care of this old people this is very sad 😢😢😢😢😢
Thanos is that you?! 😅
No you have a lot of old people / pensioners. Not enough workers and tax payers.
Oh yeah, I also tought like that when I was 8.
I wonder how are the relations between men and women in Japan? Are they suffering the same as the West in terms of a war between the sexes?
Oh no they create robo babies before Terminator rises 😱😱😱😱😱😱
At least Japan is rich right? When they die off who's going to inhabit their land? They should ask the Greeks what happened in Anatolia except the Greeks were removed by force.
Well the Chinese are there.
@@manjushagongale the Chinese are currently in Nippon?
You should not have kids you cannot take care of, when the vast majority of 18-50 year old's, is living paycheck to paycheck.
Children of Men
i'm not going to bring a life into this world with so many problems. the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. the rich are 1% of the population and the 99% are supporting the rich being over worked, underpaid, and over taxed. can't afford to buy a house, cant afford rent, food is horrible, no affordable healthcare or education. i'm going to be in debt for the rest of my life because of my own country.... this world could be an amazing place.... but it's not. why on earth would i bring a child into this world. i still want to be a mom... but damn... it's like knowing what this world is like and bringing a chld into this world... that's so irresponsible and basically torture
I totally agree and share the exact same view on things. Altho I don't think this world could be much better place in any case as beings here still die and suffer without the help from other beings. Life really is pretty much just getting ready to work or work, with few spots of light here and there. I don't really call that a life at all. So many people just can't see outside the box and keep pushing babies into this world and consider this running wheel we're in "normal".
❤❤❤❤❤❤
Could you at least give Japanese scholars a chance to answer? They can speak English too fyi
Are they kidding ?
Funny how this esteemed professor implied that under democracy we cannot give privileges to men and we cannot also take away privileges from women.
Almost like instead of democracy Japan actually has a matriarchy.
Can't stop laughing 😂
😂😂😂
Japan can be easily conquered in the last days.
Automation > immigration
What an idiotic thing to say.
@@darinherrick9224Japan is a homogeneous nation. And they want to maintain it.
Safer for the whale 🐳
Who really cares?
Japan should bring in African and Indian men, just like Europe does.
Japan is done
大きなお世話。
👍🏻
??
だよね。
Why are Americans talking about the birth rate in Japan let Japanese talk about their low birth rate not Americans.
What a dumb take.
First of all, this a German channel. Secondly, this is English news section which always has global news.
Japan’s low birth rate is very relevant to Americans, and others around the world. This is because birth rates are forecasted to drop in developed countries and eventually worldwide over the coming decades.
Japan gives us fascinating insights into a challenge other countries are likely to face going forward.
Don't forget that's one thing they're very good at doing not minding their own business 😂😂😂😂
I currently live in Japan that’s why I’m saying all of that
Tr-ans-humanism anyone 🙄😖
EUGENICS
Population decline is going to be a massive problem over the next few decades
More likely the next hundred years or longer. Once the world population starts falling it will continue to accelerate until the situation stabilizes. There will likely be mass migration and wars due to economic depression and lack of food and water.
Immigrants is the only solution it seems, but Japan isn't going to do that.
Pretty much. But don't worry. As their infrastructure collapses immigrants will likely just start pouring in illegally and the government will be powerless to stop it.
Japopulation crisis
The solution is going back to traditional values
japan needs to reduce work, improve salary, make immigration easy
Japan wants to go their own way
Immigration is a bad thing. It has been a major reason for a huge housing shortage here in Ireland.
No
Automation > immigration
@@trapaneezus indeed
She talks too much.
They were only allowed have one child and thousands of children were abounded and left to die in parks and on the street what did they except
A lower birth rate is something to celebrate, if you don't want the biosphere to collapse and every living thing on the planet to die. Economic growth is driving the collapse of the planet. You might want to talk to Prof. William Rees, who helped develop the ecological footprint measurement system that shows this is true.
Japan has a huge elderly population, less people working means their pensions will be slashed.
It's not something to celebrate for the people who will starve and die alone with no one to grow the food and care for them. For the elderly this is a nightmare.
@@soundscape26 So? More people means more people will die in climate catastrophes.
@@darinherrick9224 As long as population continues to increase, MORE people will be damned to starve and die. It's simply the physics of the situation.
EUGENICS