They could do it by forcing workers to leave early but that’s not obviously what the japanese society is aiming for. It could be argued that the crazy work hours is an essential part of japanese traditions and culture enforced by the older men leading companies who are also involved in politics and respected because of their age.
Or hire foreign workers to take over those crazy hours and let Japanese worker work jus 9-5 hours but they are prejudice against foreigner. Look at US and see why it needs legal immigrant even though US in the past is like Japan very anti-foreigner. You can't be a powerful country if you have a decline population with a decling economy
The work culture is a problem. If you're basically only home long enough to sleep and go right back to work, there simply isn't time to meet someone, marry, and have kids. Plus, many of those young people grew up in situations where at least one parent was gone a lot for work. I can't blame someone for deciding they don't want to continue that cycle.
Having kids while you have a job that requires you to meet your customer or attend offices also problematic. In most cases the parents left the kid to the their grandparents. Finding someone who can take care babies isn't simply and it's also expensive.
What's the use of such a life then? If you are earning and can't spend it on anything. Like go clubbing etc why even bother working so hard. Just make enough to get food and other essentials.
And don't forget your one day off a week is fully scheduled for a child's sports days or other school functions. I understand why men don't begin families.
@@veffiesdda965 Just putting it in context for those not working 6 day work weeks, 12 hour days, then expected to hang out in bars with coworkers afterwards.
The family registration issue is horrible. A child deserves being taken care of and being accepted, no matter what. It’s as if this innocent child is supposed to carry a shame. Totally inhumane.
"at least in my country, idk about middle east" but whole family will still accept them and register them on family registration. i think about family registration problem is big for the kid
@mariatorres6066 ..According to islamic law, any child born out of wedlock is treated as a normal child without blame placed upon the child, because the child is considered innocent and without sin, the child is entitled to full citizenship of the land he or she is born upon and he can inherit the citizenship of "his or her" mother, but not the father's citizenship. Also since the mother is unmarried, the child cannot take the father's name. The child must take the mother's name and the child is not allowed to inherit from the father, however the child can inherit from the mother.
Japan must make a choice, slow down, allow its citizens to be human beings and not means of capital, or continue to work themselves into a once-great nation.
INSANE work hours, extream stress (reduces fertility in both men and women), lack of child care options, mental health problems not being addressed, and so many other things.
So true. And uh, bullying, social laws and discrimination against foreigners or themselves like how they look and act are also stressful, which many people simply think not have a kid because they don't want the kid to go through all these bad things.
@@lukashenrique4295 yeah, I have an acquaintance stationed in Okinawa plus a Japanese pen pal from childhood. They've been telling me about this kind of stuff for years.
@Kazuma Yoshikaze / 義風一真 yeah, same here in America; if you don't go to college you will never get wealthy. I'm glad that I went to a technical community college. I got both my certification and an associates.
@@erikagehm2805 colleges doesn't you'll be wealthy it mean you won't be poor you have to be lucky to get rich Joe Rogan didn't go to college and is rich meanwhile my uncle who work at it is middle class their luck to being rich than just working hard yay being said go to college so many job want college degrees and even you don't go to a job the don't need that go to expand you horizon, view point, and learn something you'll like or helpful to your life you make work as an electrician or run a small business but you can do literature as a side hobby or side job
My dad currently lives in Japan with his wife and they're both Filipino. His wife is a citizen because she was married to a citizen there who was japanese just to let you know. My dad faced lots of prejudice at his old work. They thought he was arrogant because he can speak English. They do not like foreigners even if you're half. Her oldest daughter is in the philippines maybe because of that. My brother was stationed there for atleast 2 yrs and he said that the younger generation are more accepting but he did go to a bar that told him no foreigner is allowed to come in. They weren't mean to him but they had signs showing that he's not allowed in there. I hope that Japan fixes the problems. It might be horrifying to see that a race can become extinct. That's some Sci fi stuff!
The bars totally make sense (mainly in the south and Osaka and Okinawa) where US soldiers frequently go into fight, refuse to pay their tab, and a rude with the regulars.
@@GamingTranceSeer Yes, near military bases (more then 25 mil insta in Japan) very sadly. Mil only bring prostitutions bad values, belittle the locals, and maintain Japan in a hostage/colony state.
"Why don't you just.. have more kids?" always comes from people who already have kids and are well off, or people who have no idea how much it costs to have children.
I have a friend who already has 3 kids and she is only in her later 20s. And she came from a poor background but managed to work hard and secure enough of a livelihood with her husband to secure a family. It is not impossible. People have different experiences and can still succeed.
@@toledochristianmatthew9919 but why tho.. I personally don't want to bring a child to this miserable world especially if I can't give them a comfortable life. Why need to deliberately drag an innocent life to suffer poverty and hardship with you.
And in reality, the poorer somebody, or a country the higher number of children they have, so that is a bad excuse. Bigger wealth doesn't lead to a higher number of children but lower (until a certain point, because the richest few percent tend to have more children).
Some of the most vivid memories I have of my Japan travels is witnessing the high amount of exhausted people on the trains and buses, both students and adults. And the high amount of lone salarymen everywhere.... walking alone, eating alone, drinking alone, looking absolutely depressed and on the verge of "karoshi". It was so heartbreaking to see. The overwork culture is one of the primary reasons why the population has been declining rapidly. People have almost no time for a social life, let alone proper self-care 😞
Having visited Japan for the first time not too long ago, yeah I noticed that myself. Also going into the arcades in Tokyo and they are all packed with men in business suits glued to the games they're playing. I'm guessing if that's what they're doing during their off time, it doesn't leave much time for a social life.
You are so correct and real talk. That’s true. And also this is the reason why thousands of Filipinos working in Japan as entertainers, modern and cultural entertainers, bands, singers, dancers ect and if you remove Filipinos in Japan more crazy no life. No nightlife.Everybody just working until they retire
Japan's problem is pride, specifically national pride. Many countries have this problem, but it's worse in Japan because of the strong national identity, etc. Japan has a lot of great things. But, national pride has prevented Japan from changing. I've been in Japan for 20+ years. I hope this country changes soon because the people are fantastic.
@CC-zl9nm I think what he means is that they have pride in the sense that they care to preserve that identity that an outsiders/foreigner does not share/understand. They aren't really boastful about it. They just don't want to have it diluted which is the problem with the immigration approach.
Families living out in remote jungle bamboo villages in rural Bangladesh were asked why the birth rate had declined so rapidly to only an average of two children per family from 7+ children per family two generations ago. The answer was that their parents and grandparents were nuts for having such large families (where nearly half of the kids died before adulthood), and that raising kids was expensive. S'truth!
still taking examole of Bangladesh india and African countries is a bit out of context we have to acknowledge that in the same wirld a country can be underpopulated and other overpopulated
@@kkm1194 No, the point was even families in remote Bangladesh were having fewer children because of the expense of raising kids and having big families is nuts. All around the world, except for Africa, large families have been declining.
@@sejembalm In the Philippines that is only true for the middle class. The upper class and the lower class are still making a lot of babies. The latter just, as usual, can't afford them, while among the former are people who can afford that many kids because they're skimming off taxes. Taxes paid by people who choose to limit how many children they'd have (which in some cases, would be ZERO).
@@sejembalm they had more children in the past because they had no access to contraception and because children in subsistence farming societies were not an expense but an asset, they worked in the fields for no pay.
I live in Japan and my wife (Japanese) and I have actually considered leaving Japan due to the fact that we can literally see Japan crumbling all around us. People are dying from overworking Salaries haven't increased in 20+ years, while cost of living continues to rise Most of the population is over the age of 65 Birth rate severely low Kids go to school, and when schools over they go to cram school, then then they do homework until they pass and start school again in the morning. Government is highly and openly xenophobic There has been very little technological advancement in the last 20+ years. I could go on much longer, but I think the point has been made.
Japan has lost its creativity. Korea has become more prosperous with the K drama and Samsung and LG products. My last TV was a Sony but my new TV is now LG. What happened to Sony?
As someone with a Japanese spouse who recently fled Japan to return to the US; allow me to add this to your list...every legitimate concern you mentioned was made 1,000x worse by GOJ's continued inept response to C19.
I think the biggest problem is how ridged Japan is in its traditional society. Having children and having an 80 hour work week dont go together. You can't have both unless it's society view changes its never going to get better.
It sounds cruel but at this rate, any cultural change in Japan will organically happen only when the old, ruling population has died out. Japan has a long history and people have long memories. As long as that memory of a booming, prosperous era of Japan persists, aversion to change remains. Memories turn to myths and this one has joined Bushido in the Japanese social pantheon.
What needs to change is an economic system that relies on an ever-increasing population to feed it. A reduction in population is prudent considering 50% of current jobs will have been made obsolete by mass-automation and AI within the next 25 years, especially on an archipelago the size of California that is 85% mountainous, non-arable land on which Japanese can't grow enough to sustain it's current population.
@@gordonbgraham i don't think the self reliability of a country on it's food sector is a very logical metric to use in the modern globalised age. Many countries seem to be doing okay while reliying on foreign imports for a chunk of their food.
I was born in the US, but I am a descendant of Filipino immigrants. In high school in NYC in the 1980s I learned Japanese, and my teacher even found us pen pals so we could practice our hiragana. I went to visit my penpal in Shibaraki prefecture and went to Japan as a graduation present. I loved it! My penpal emigrated to the US and went to UCLA in California. It’s a little sad because it seems the Japanese is losing its population. My penpal is a doctor now, and I think she left Japan because she wanted a career, not to be a housewife.
Mah, that's alrite. The japanese are disappearing in penance for their crimes in WWII. The brazilians and ASEANs peeps will care take of japan in their place.
The problem will never really go away until we finally Globally acknowledge that the way we live as a collective is unsustainable in innumerable and immeasurable ways.
Except the alternative is just as worse and allowing generations to face collapse after collapse in search of Utopia will see this planet destroyed before its founded.
I used to teach English in Japan and one of my kindergarten classes got completely wiped from the schedule because there weren't enough children being born to populate the class. I've always heard about the declining birth rate, but I never thought it would directly affect my income.
which city is that if you don’t mind me asking? There is also a shortage of kindergartens/educators in the cities that I know just because it’s not profitable at all as a business model and not highly paid
Honestly I've heard from many foreigners that they wouldn't want to raise a kid in Japan, and from all the stories from the insane school culture, the bullying, the stress on children... I can understand not just their point of view, but the point of view of anyone in Japan who would seriously think about having a child. Especially since hikikomori have become a more known problem (not saying they themselves are the problem, it's the culture that makes them that is.)
You're likely to get bullied if you're not their kind. But if you're a Japanese the bullying might not be so rampant if you fall in line but then again something needs to change especially in the government
I've lived in Japan since 1988, more than 30 years and have raised 5 kids here. I wouldn't want to raise a family anywhere else including and especially my native Canada where home-ownership is out of reach for the working class. The average cost of a home in Japan is $300,000, the average cost of a home in Canada is $800,000. If you are anywhere close to Toronto or Vancouver, triple that! Canada's healthcare system used to be the envy of the world, now you have to wait up to a year for an MRI. I've had 3 operations in Japan for which I had to wait under a week for an MRI. From diagnosis to operation each took less than 3 weeks! Japan has the best health care system on the planet. Also, home ownership is a possibility for even low-wage earners. I recently bought a 3 bedroom home on a 1/4 lot 50 minutes from Ikebukuro, central Tokyo for the equivalent of $150,000 CD. The same home would have cost me at least 10 times that in Canada. All of my kids have either been through or are in the public school system. We couldn't be happier with the genuine care and attention they've received. We're thrilled with the attention to personal responsibility elementary school put on our kids, which has made discipline in the home much easier. Japanese high school students annually rank in the top 5 in international testing for math, science and literacy. Quality education is free up to and including high school for those who can't afford it. Post secondary education is relatively cheap with most undergraduate degrees costing less than $50,000. Canada has an estimated 250,000 homeless people with a population of 40 million. Japan has an estimated 4,000 homeless with a population of 165 million. Canada also has a drug issue with opioids and all kinds of drugs in its high schools. As a parent in Japan, that's one less thing I have to worry about, as there are next to zero drugs in the schools. The Japanese government provides stipends for kids up until and including jr. high school. We receive ￥15,000 per month for our kids prior to high school. We also were awarded a grant of ￥300,000 for each child to cover hospital expenses above and beyond what our national insurance plan covered. There are a myriad of other reasons why Japan is the best place to have and raise children...but I'll leave it at that for now. Moving to Japan from Canada was the best decision I've ever made. By far
@@sebastian-dp9vq Canada's population has increased due to immigration. Japan's population is levelling out to a more sustainable level in an age in which mass-automation and AI will have made 50% of current jobs obsolete within the next 25 years. Also, Japan is an an archipelago roughly the size of California (40 million) and 80% of it is mountainous, non-arable land on which food can't be grown. Japan can't rely on a demographic model that requires endless population growth. It's naturally and prudently levelling out to a more sustainable level.
I'm about to give birth in Japan. Honestly it is so expensive, even with the grants the government. If I get pregnant again I am definitely going back home to give birth. I'm not surprised nobody wants to have children, especially because nobody has much money these days.
I keep thinking, "Oh, they must have a single parent/are orphans" because you NEVER see the other parent. Like Deku from BNHA. I thought his dad was dead or something
It is very sad to see that the historic and cultural traditions that shaped Japan we all know are killing it in the modern environment. If it comes to choosing between preserving uniqueness and having a future, I hope Japan makes the right choice.
Culture is constantly changing even if you don't like it. Comments like this never make any sense to me. It's normal for cultures to evolve. No culture stays the same for thousands of years.
@@stonedzebra420 this issue isn’t just culture changing. It never will be just that culture is changing. Everything and everyone changes. The issue is that traditions that are unique to you are slowly fading out and that goes for everyone. My parents are Bosnian and we live in the US. We used to do a bunch of stuff that was kinda unique to our culture but the longer we’re here I notice that it all kinda fades away. We used to hold huge family parties, make rotisserie lamb, have certain exchanges that are unique to our culture as well as certain formalities when exchanging gifts and or going to peoples houses etc. it’s kinda like having a certain thing you and your friends do and everyone just not giving a crap anymore when you liked all the shiz y’all used to do together. Also I’m sure Japan is just seeing the slow but sure collapse of places like the USA and is trying desperately to not replicate it. At a certain point having too much freedom leads to over complicating issues that might not even be there which is probably why we’ve seen them crack down on some stuff. Sorry that was a lot to read.
The idea of Japan one day not existing makes me feel very sad, as I adore Japan so much. Granted, I will not be alive by the time it disappears if your video is accurate, but I will live through seeing it decline which is upsetting. I hope that soon, the problems you are all facing over there will have working solutions made and that this can either be reversed, slowed down, or that it can be evened out at least.
Nope 100% won't happen, this is irreversible, but after a total economy breakdown, when women will need men again for survival, then this will start to get better again, should take around 60 to 80 years. They will have to go into a third world phase first. When government replace men, this phenomenon ALWAYS happens. (protection, money, social order, etc)
For women, the problem of being less flexible also adds to the problem, as employers like to have people who are able to work from Monday to Sunday, at best whenever they are needed, and women with children cannot do that. Therefore, their choice of jobs gets more limited, and often, they do not get jobs which are every well paid. If the couple separates, women often grow extremely poor, when they have children.
@@shirohanakurohana thats the sad realty and the even worst think curse of Germany has a very old population too the rulers make poletics for the elderly and are all time only think till the next election at best so no change
if only companies have the understanding what they can contribute to the country and future generations if they hire part time mums, when the kids turn to teens, they can start look after themselves so their mothers can transition back to full time
and there is the problem government just thinking aboute the big voter grupes and mothers are not a big grupe or is this just a problem where i come from
Out of all the things I've read and listened to about Japan over the decades I never thought the biggest cultural shock would come from something like the legal status of "illegitimate" children. This is INSANE.
@@johnrowland2887 it's even crazier that if the parents aren't married the father can simply "not acknowledge" the child, much less pay any child support. Every child has the right to know who their father is, get that tramp a DNA test STAT! Seriously, I'm a man and this is blowing my mind, the government doesn't care about kids _at all,_ it's a misogynist's wet dream.
Because Japan is not monogamous originally so yes there is illegitimate children, as you know women used to be well known for their infidelity, it still is a problem.
It’s like how everyone was joking that during lockdown there’d be a baby boom. Really? Folks are loosing their jobs, loosing loved ones, getting a long term illness after getting infected, facing mass stress, are completely unsure as to the future of the world, and you think that makes (responsible) adults want to have babies?
Even if I had the finances to raise children, I don't think I could be an absent parent from working a crazy schedule. Having children and barely seeing them due to long work hours feels the same as not having any kids for me. I want to be able to spend enough time to see them grow and be involved in their lives.
@khmerboi253-this has become the norm everywhere children looked after by nannies so until children do not say anything it is ok else they will say when they are old enough so better if work hours are 8-4 with basic education higher education health care free chid care 100% free not just for few weeks then automatically population will rise there will be no need to discuss all these things else just for the sake of population nowadays people will not have kids
Even knowing how this harms children, selfish people have children and barely give any time and then want others to respect them and their children to look up to their neglectful behind.
Just as an outsider looking in and also taking a peek at the Meiji restoration (the rapid industrialization of Japan). Japan moved forward with their tech but not their culture. This unwillingness to change (socially, work, their views on outsiders, etc) because it's not traditional is absolutely insane to me (again as an outsider looking in) and imo, although this is an extreme oversimplification, it's what's really killing Japan is this unwillingness to change anything and to have an iron grip on ideas and practices that don't have a place in the modern developed age.
Yes, and it's not limited to Japan. Any area of any country that has unwillingness to change or to even acknowledge that the most of the rest of the world is changing will doom that area to slow/no growth and will have great difficulty attracting businesses into the area. In the US these areas usually slow, steady brain drain. I wonder if that's occuring in Japan, or at least parts of it.
@@tink6225 culturally they are very traditional like japan, but economically they are very free market minded. High taxes/ high cost of living and heavily regulated economies = decline in population.
We moved to Japan in the early 90's. We had two children there. The thing that surprised me was that health insurance did not cover the hospital stay because having children was "not a disease", so for our second child, we went to a midwife clinic instead. So, immediately at birth, there's an expense. As a foreigner, our children were born illegal aliens. We were given a month to get them a passport for our country of origin, then get a visa, and alien registration cards, which was a a fair bit of work at a time when the internet was not yet a resource. We left Japan when I started working for a manager who did not like foreigners. He wrote my position out of the budget, even though I was saving purchasing costs by an amount greater than my salary. Constructive dismissal. I'd had enough. It was not that we were not contributing to society. We did volunteer work when we could. After leaving we had two more children. It is true that children are an expense, but also it depends what your priorities are in life.
I can't imagine, in Europe childbirth is definitely covered by health insurance and there are many tax and money incentives for parents, the influx of refugees, as much as parts of the population protest, is also helping with keeping up the work force for economies like Germany.
@@quietuptown78 replacement immigration of the native stock with 3rd worlders, several cities including Paris, London, Frankfurt, etc are already majority foreigners
Shogo-san, I think this isn't a Japan-only problem, but a developed country problem. Japan's neighbors are also seeing a decline in birthrates, and in a lot of the developed countries in the western world as well. I think we don't need an explanation why the world is having less kids considering how bad the global economy is, the fast-paced of life is, and the values the working world is imposing on the people. Color me surprised but in the Philippines, it saw a slowdown in birthrate from 2020 and I think, it will probably continue due to the worsening economy. Just ask any 20-something adult now on will they have kids, listen to what those who don't want to. With the track of the world today and the man-made difficulties that people unwillingly impose on themselves, we're in for a population decline not only in Japan, but worldwide as well.
I'm from the Philippines, it's our terrible politics and economic woes, a sort of vengeance against our parent generation to 'end the cycle of misery,' rising cost of produce, declining (as if it was high to begin with) quality of living, and urban life. But mostly -- you hear this everywher -- this stab against the older gens who allowed this all to happen, my generation, who are better off btw, are the ones refusing to bear kids and have more live in this horrendous country. It's the ignorant schmucks who keeps having children here and passing on their culture of stupidity.
@@suzygirl1843 It isn't. Look at Middle East and Africa where religion still drives people to have lots of children. Look at migrants from said territories in the West. Other day I met a security guard; poor English skills, minimal wage, works only 10 hours a WEEK, living on Universal Credit (basically stealing money of hard-working people with blessing of the law), prays 5 times a day and brags that he has 5 children. When he should be ashamed that a lazy thief like him is even alive.
@@suzygirl1843 Maybe my country's environmentalists will join the opposition to the gov't's population white paper that plans for an increased population, if that necessitates more deforestation to build more houses for more people
I worked for a Japanese pharma company. 200 people were laid off due not to low/slow US sales but because the founder promised a certain rate of return to Japanese investors, most of whom are retired. He won’t adjust the return to match the company’s actual profits so if you lay off employees you save money and can pay unrealistic returns.
Saw a dad struggling with his baby girl at the airport to calm her down and I helped with my Pikachu plush. One of the happiest moment during my trip. It wasn’t until a little later did I notice, that little girl was one of the few babies I actually saw during my month long stay there. I see more children at my job in half a week than I did the entire month there. If you ask me, if the Japanese workforce decides to chill out on the overwork and people learn to take a chance(or let the government take that chance for them) on romance, you’ll start seeing more babies.
their harmony-is-priority culture means change cannot happen quickly and aggressively. It can only be cajoled through subtle and cheerful messages... Given the elderly make up a big voting power, politicians don't have much incentives to please the youth. Nobody will play a long game.
In the words of my dad (himself a late baby boomer born in 1956), "things wouldn't change much until all of us die". He's an economic centrist and socially liberal, which is a rarity of his generation. The death of the boomers is going to be rapid and disastrous, and the younger generation unfortunately has to brace for it, without being given enough tools and resources. Millennials like me in particular are cursed.
@@nastyayoyo4963 do you think if they stripped voting power from the majority of the public leaving it only to a group of select adults ranging from young to old but everybody is seen on equal grounds, with issues from each generation being brought up help. Seems some young adults being made to step up might be useful. Though with young people who are already stressed, this might be way too much, huh?
Interesting enough, this is why the Law factions in the Shin Megami Tensei series has such a negative vibe to it. All order and no change. Harmony no matter the cost. This mentality leads to stagnation and right now Japan is failing to see this. Heck I think entire world is failing to see this.
@@victoriazero8869 "economic centrist and socially liberal" is actually quite common, if your Dad is from the US. It's a position held by neo-liberals, establishment conservatives, libertarians, and conservatives who want to distance themselves from southern conservatism. In other words, the vast majority of boomers would describe themselves as such. You may say it's distinct, since they used the term "economic centrist" instead of "economic conservative", but in the modern day US, being a centrist is the cornerstone of neo-liberalism. The two are, in every measure, the same.
I think there will be a rebirth of Japan after the old generations pass away and people realising the need for a change. They are limiting their evolution as a society and their well being.
Hi, I think it might be important to add mental health to this convo as well. I.e. “s*icide”, crippling depression, self isolation, work place PTSD. Especially in regards to Japanese work culture, and expectations. If we don’t address mental health issues that can create a whole other can of worms :(
The train being delayed due to a suicide is not unexpected in Japan. I remember even the Shinkansen was held up for me a couple times because of this when I lived there. It's really tough....
Worst case scenario, the people in Japan snapping and go a homicidal rampage on anyone that wronged them, which is a major fear that could happen pretty soon.
I can’t think of something so horrifying as the decline or disappearance of Japan. Japan’s culture and effect on the world would make its’ loss a tragic event. I can only pray that someone with vision will rise up. And though the battle would be difficult hopefully success can be achieved to preserve Japan. Allow me to be selfish and say prayers for the people of Japan.
@@kingrobotnik6950 quite the can-do attitude you've got there. Unfortunately, with the culturally entrenched and long-standing 'don't rock the boat' and 'don't disrupt the puplic harmony' mentally that permeates Japan I'm not holding my breath. Personally I'm worried that said culture is going to end up just like ancient Sparta. Another iconic and distinctive society that REFUSED to adapt to changing circumstances and doggedly held to a specific worldview and way of doing things right up until their society quite literally withered away.
@@harrygeocaris3179 hopefully globalization can help overcome that, assimilation is the natural conclusion to the meeting of cultures. With dissatisfaction as the major driving force to change, though it might just lead to the equivalent of a "brain drain" for culture.
This is happening in most of the industrialized world. The fundamental problem is that the conditions simply are not conducive to raising children. No space, as living space is hugely expensive in any place close to work; and no time, because either one has a high-paying job where one puts in lots of hours, or one has about three low-paying jobs, where one puts in lots of hours. Children require the supervision of an adult to raise... maybe not constant supervision, but more than 20 minutes in the morning and an hour at night.
In non-industrialized countries, people typically just do subsistence farming or some work just enough to get by and maybe have some leftover for emergencies. Having a kids then is a way to increase wealth by having more available labor or something that just happens due to lack of access to birth control. It’s also common for older kids to take care of their younger siblings; there isn’t so much of an idea of “letting kids be kids”, so to say. In industrialized countries, kids are seen more as something to enrich one’s life by having that sense of accomplishment of having raised a functional adult or relishing the parent-child bond. It’s also encouraged for kids to enjoy their childhood without being saddled with expectations to work on a family farm all day or take care of their younger siblings beyond maybe watching them for a few hours occasionally while the parents are away. We could lower the standard of kids’ lives and have more since we would invest in each child less, but that’s considered unacceptable and parents don’t want to do that. As an example (albeit maybe a bit extreme), my great-grandmother had 10 kids, but they were just a farming family, so the kids often worked on the farm and the older kids took care of their younger siblings regularly. It wouldn’t be possible for even an upper middle class family, much less a rural farming family to raise those kids in these times to the standard expected. It would take very rich parents now to afford all 10 kids each their own bedroom, birthday present, some holiday present, family vacation (even if it’s just a camping trip a few hours away), extracurricular opportunities, treats and toys just throughout the year, etc - all considered normal standards for a middle class family in the industrialized world. TL;DR: The standards for raising kids is much higher than it used to be. It’s not really possible for people to have as many kids as they have had several generations ago, or they don’t want to, even with ample support.
Japan has a core issue to solve this but is too afraid to remove the issue. This is usually just the problem with two things: 1. Work Culture 2. Views on Foreign relations I do hear however now that this may be changing due to Japanese 'Gen Z.' If so, maybe Japan has hope.
It felt that the Japanese doesn't want to admit they have a workaholic problem and a major population decline problem that could had been easily addressed.
Japan will need 50 percent fewer people working thanks to machine labor. Keeping the current population would only create plenty of unemployed people who can’t make it without money from those who work
Japanese workplace culture needs to change from top to bottom. Unless the leadership changes first, things will remain the same, even if the bottom changes first. This is an obvious thing, but it's something that's hard to accept by most people at the tippy top, mostly because of their hardened views and inflexible culture that Japan has, in terms of workplace kind of thing. I'm talking about this because frankly, the mindset above applies to pretty much the entire societal facets within Japan. So yeah.
@@suzygirl1843 Not really. It's not like nobody has children. Sure, the economy might collapse, but then things will reset and regulate on their own. It's better be poor than remove culture of your country by allowing mass immigration.
How do we re-educate the elderly so that *they* demand change from politicians? Especially if they aren't online and physically isolated from younger adults like Shogo whose perspectives the elders either don't know about or don't care enough about, yet 🤔? Serious question!
@@Setsunako6587 Even if you could reach every single one, it is impossible. In any country. The primary feature of elderly people, in any country, is that they are unwilling and unable to learn.
One thing I’ve noticed as a teacher is that a LOT of brilliant and talented Japanese people leave Japan and take with them their ideas, technology and thinking because it’s hard to be different in Japan. I also think if they’d make it easier for foreign people to live here, it might help, but the duel citizenship issue is ALSO a problem for half children and mixed families. Basically… I think many of the things that make Japan great are also kind of killing Japan. Competing on a global stage has to be a goal, and I don’t know if Japan is ready to do that.
Not just that but salaries are low and working conditions are usually poor. There are very few incentives for talented workers to work in Japan unless you have some kind of cultural interest.
I've been living in Shizuoka since July of 2016, and Shogo's videos always help me understand things my wife can't explain easily, when I have questions. Thank you so much for all these videos!
Man, it hurts to see the problems in japan getting worse. And as an outsider, it hurts more that we can’t do anything to help. Thank you for spreading the awareness tho.
@@ouui Immigrants are only a temporary solution because their birth rate drops to that of the native population by the third generation. So you have to have a constant stream of immigration into your country, which is difficult to pull off in a country with a culture as strict as Japan.
@@ouui migration is the kiss of death to established nations with own cultures. By chance are you Filipino or Iranian or Indian in seeking migration to Japan? Stay home!
He's pandering to a Western audience. Grifting for a successful RUclips channel. Many have an appetite for "the dark side of Japan". The "other side" is saturated.
I need this kind of person to educate people about my rotting country.. I need no sugarcoating, no sarcasm, no negativity..just calm logic analysis to wake us from the dream
@@gordonbgraham "My name's Steve, from Missouri, and you guys are mischaracterizing Japan for profit because there's nothing negative to say about Japan."
Being young in Japan seems to be so much more difficult than in Norway, where I live. I've seen many of your videos, and I get the impression that the older generations are very ageist towards the younger generations for the sake of maintaining traditions and outdated social norms. If that's correct, what might happen when the younger generstions age up and realize these traditions have been used to keep them tied down and limit their lives? It's such a shame to see this amazing country have issues like this.
I feel sad watching the situation and the government doing everything but what it needs to to fix the situation. My partner and I (both Japanese) are getting married and want to have kids. However, it just doesn't seem financially possible to have even one and have enough money to retire. The latest election also made us realize we might eventually have to leave the country. In my opinion, the older generation is cannibalizing the younger generation's future for themselves.
We get that I the UK too. The older generation have robbed us of so many things, we can't even escape to Europe anymore because they voted to pull us out of the EU.
Sounds like you have a Boomer problem too. Boomers (older people) in America and Europe ruined the future for younger generations too. They were able to afford houses and multiple kids on a single income. Now younger people get paid more, work multiple jobs and barely are able to afford rent.
It’s so sad, it’s happening everywhere really. :( Here in America it is similar, we don’t even get maternity leave. :c It just isn’t viable anymore. The elders here are also running the country into the ground with their greed and obsession with keeping the status quo. :c I sincerely hope Japan and the USA can change for the better. It saddens me to see that you may have to leave your country. :( It’s your home after all! I would love to stay here in the USA, but with how things are going I’ve also thought about leaving here for a more prosperous place.
Agreed, the old have also pulled masks on every child - they will forever be changed and traumatized to show face, have delayed speech, lower IQ and be afraid of others / low emotional intelligence. Insane how adults allow this to happen in schools
I live in Sweden and I can only say what helped us (me and my partner) to raise two kids: * 40 hour work weeks. Working longer isn’t encouraged as you will be taxed more and there’s a legal limit on how many hours your are allowed to work. Plus working more hours doesn’t mean you work more effective, on the contrary you get less work done and the quality of your work will get lower and more mistakes will be made! * Parental leave - you get 480 days payed leave to take care of your kid. You can use these day up to the kid’s 8th birthday. 390 of those days equals to the same amount as the when your on sick leave (80% of regular pay). The other 90 days are at a lower pay. People often mix those together, like taking 5 days of sick pay and 2 days of the low pay just to make them last longer. * Monthly child benefit - the government pays a benefit for every kid up to it’s 16th birthday. Today that sum is around $118 or 1250kr per month and child. Not much but it helps poor families with money to clothes and stuff. I remember when my daughter was 14 yr we decided to let her manage these money herself. She then had to pay her mobile bill with it, buy clothes (of course not all clothes) etc. The first day she went on a shopping spree buying clothes. The next day she went back to the stores and got her money back! After that she started to save her money and she’s now a real Scrooge McDuck! * Affordable kindergarten for all - all kids are required to get a place at a kindergarten near where they live. How much the parents pay is decided on their income. Even kids to unemployed parents gets to go so the parents either have time to look for a job or get an education. Kindergarten is more then just a storage for kids, they acts as preschools and have activities like visiting zoos, museums and such. * School lunches - Swedish kids gets free lunches in school (and breakfast in kindergarten). No hassle for the parents to send food with their kids to school. * Free medical and dental care for kids. Self explanatory I guess, plus free glasses if needed. * Free schools - even University studies are free. But at the higher educations you need to buy your own books and pay for you own living, thou the government pays a monthly benefit and give extreme low rate student loans. * Free travel for kids and students. If the kids needs to travel daily to there school then the government pays for that expense. So I know many say we pay high taxes in Sweden (30% or more), this is what some of those taxes goes too! * Payed sick leave for when the kids get sick - When the kids gets sick, they can
And one parent cannot work. Just look at the data. Fertility rate started falling when women started joining the workforce. Even in Scandinavian countries where people work very little compared to the Japanese, they are very healthy and are rich in nations. They have among the lowest fertility rates in the world, at around the same level of Japan.
@@secrets.295 Many countries, women are waiting until 30 to start trying to have kids. There was an expert who said that if women wait until 30, there is statistically only a 50% chance that she will succeed even if she starts trying.
@@secrets.295 College is part of the issue. Women going to college, come out and feel the need to get established in a career to pay off student loans and they get past the age of being able to succeed at having kids.
@@wishingb5859 What you describe is more "Student Loan" issue rather then college. Young people in USA are desitined to slave off x amounts of years, for a degree that might not give them anything. It's less eductation for women, as you try to put, it's more 'education in USA' issue.
@@cracmar03 Well it is a global issue. Much worse in Asia than the USA. The point it, women are more successful at getting married and having a family if they find their mate by their early twenties and globally, women who are trying to get advanced educations and careers often forfeit having families.
Japan has successful discourages women from wanting to have children and men from wanting real women 😬 The work culture that demands life and soul of employee is the killing blow.
I'm a guy who a weeb and has a waifu but I still would want to have a relationship with a. real women hey even mother basement have a wife while still living his waifu I think it because Japanese are afraid of have real relationship and they been taught that to still form some guy I heard at a ted talk "men will be what we make them to be" and this apply to women too
@@tomsuh1362 outsiders will become the majority if Japanese babies don’t start popping up left and right. But who wants to have babies when family related support is just lip service? They have programs and rules that are supposed to encourage more babies but no one pushes to make sure they are used and enforced. Just the same old dead-end company is life thinking. Maybe companies should get penalized for skipped vacations and paternity leave etc. Force them to respect work/life balance.
For how modern and technological Japan looks, I didn't know that this issue was that major. I hope Japan will be able to do something about this. I have always admired Japanese stuff like games and cards. Don't want them to just disappear one day...
Japan has peaked, no more growth economically, this is what peak development looks like. Well of materially but spiritually drained. No time for love, for own self and for children.
This is a problem in Australia too even with high levels of immigration. Many can't afford houses and the whole system is stacked against making children. Even one kid means your borrowing capacity goes down about 50k.
It's more likely due to corrupt politicians wanting to get rid of Australian citizens and replace them with immigrants that are only loyal to them, no matter the consequences.
Even in the US, where our ability to work as hard as the Japanese is optional, it's getting more difficult. I optionally put in 50 hours a week at work and 12 hours a week at home studying for my next certification/promotion for 4 years. In that time, I received important validation and promotions at work, but doing this with kids is extremely tiring. I can feel the fatigue and my progress at work has slowed significantly because I have 2 children now and there simply isn't time. We need to reduce our expectations for the workforce and realize time spent at work does not equal output. I fortunately work from home now, and I can produce my 10 hour days worth of work in 4 hours because that's how it has always been... it's just that in offices people work more slowly because they KNOW they're stuck there for 8-12 hours, so why not make 3 hours worth of work take that long?
not getting paid overtime is absolutely criminal. In my country if they want to have you stay overtime it's mandated to pay 150% of your hourly salary per hour.
Filipina here w/ a Japanese husband and both are working in the Philippines right now. Having our first child has come into our serious discussion and although we really wanna live in Japan and have our baby there, we are postponing it becaus of the economic downturns in the country and we see it's going to get worse. We are lucky to enjoy an upper middle class life in the Philippines because of our jobs plus I just inherited my parents' house and lot (the pros of being an only child, a rare thing in the Philippines). I don't like that the Philippine peso is weakening but both of us admit that USD is the currency on going big here in the Philippines.
This is one of things I find crazy about immigration in Japan, even for someone that has heritage that was born in another country like the nippo-brazilians or americans that is not just really hard to get in Japan but also you can't get a nationality unless you live in Japan for decades. It's insane how much they don't want no sort of foreigners, even ethnically japanese.
Although South Korea also has a low birthrate, it takes almost the opposite approach to Japan to encourage people having children. For example, they have almost free childcare (compared to cost of other places), new families get given money by the government to raise the child and the process of pregnancy, getting the lady and baby tested/screened etc. is very easy. Additionally, parents are given the time to take care of their children in the first few years.
This kinda proves that having free child care won't fix the issue. Developed nations with individual choice and high education generally refuse to have so many children. It wouldn't be so bad if these collective actions aren't effectively dooming that country and society in the future. Don't have enough kids, then you can't support the next batch of elderly.
Shogo and Harumi are doing their part with their wonderful family! I hope the laws and customs will adapt to encourage young people to form families and have children. They are life’s greatest blessing ❤️
"They are life’s greatest blessing" To you! To me they are a curse. I cannot stand children, and to be honest I think pulling kids into this overpopulated world jsut for your own entertainment is kinda selfish. It's not in the kid's benefit to be born.
I can see a giant switch to modernisation in Japan coming in the next few decades hopefully while keeping important aspects of Japanese history and culture alive
My first boss was an auditor in Japan. He said even back in the 90s, universities started to close due to lack of students. So this isn't really "rapid." And back then instead of coming up with real solutions the general response is "sho ga nai." 30 years later here we are.
It's incredibly sad. I have never had nor wanted children, but I imagine many young Japanese people would love to have a family and see them grow, but can't because of economic pressures - other pressures too, but rooted in money. And it's true that if I were now a young Japanese woman I would be VERY reluctant to marry and give up work to look after a house and family, with an absent partner unavailable to build a relationship with his kids - let alone knowing that if we split up he may avoid payment, even if we are married. That would be a big fat NO from me. Having children at all needs to be made easier, children that are born out of wedlock need to be recognised and supported, and raising a child needs to be given more support. Having and raising children needs to become not even more attractive, just more possible - even things like the cost of child education needs to be addressed! How you manage that in a shrinking economy is down to politicians and economists, but ... here's an idea! Tax the rich. Japan, like everywhere else, must have a super-class of very wealthy families who are actually currently able to avid many social responsibilities including paying a reasonable proportion of their income in tax. Politicians are currently very dependent on them for campaign funding, so I suppose they have not much motivated to fix this. Hard to see a way forward, but there are changes that could be made which might cost almost nothing. Allowing dual nationality, recognising illegitimate children and allowing immigration for long term residency and ... Japanese naturalisation! Eventually things will get so bad that even the most reluctant will be eager for changes. But ... delay will make it all harder, and economic suffering harder. Like I said, sad.
If you have that attitude about childern, you can't be anything but a hypocrite and virtue-signaler in saying that this is all "incredibly sad." It's selfishness like that which kills nations.
And they're not paid, because they work too much. Supply and demand law. The more one person does, the less people you need to hire. The lower wages you can give, because competition is higher. There is no reason why in Japan, with their level of advancement, people wouldn't work 8, or even just 6 hours a day, and have top 10 salaries in the world. They would need to ditch some nonsensical procedures though. For example in this video about work of a Japanese courier, the courier had to do car inspection every time they came back it. It's so pointless it's absurd and a complete waste of time. An inspection once a week is more than enough. There must be thousands examples of such self-sabotage by Japanese companies.
Think my country has an opposite issue where after divorce a former wife may be legally entitled to proportionately more alimony from her former husband e.g. even if she earns more, & the husband might face more risk of being bankrupted (with all its legal ramifications); the gov't will then at most send him for financial counselling I remember. Our minister also called alimony a "lifelong commitment" I remember & it has been reported to possibly make it more difficult for the husband to convince any future wife that he's moved on from his former wife, as he may still be legally obliged to pay alimony to the latter (until she dies or finds a new husband I think)
With regards to health, there is one practice that I think greatly contributes to it: the annual health check at work, school, and local communities (健康診断). This is based on preventative medicine, which means diseases tend to be caught earlier and are more easily treatable.
The optimistic part of me thinks that all countries will face this conundrum eventually, and that Japan might have a head start figuring out how to deal with it. In the U.S., it just seems like older generations keep hoarding/squandering all of the wealth, forcing younger generations to work harder, live more frugally, have fewer children, and have those children later in life. The population continues to grow due to immigration, though.
@@stephenjenkins7971 Yeah, I remember people saying; "There will be a baby boom after the lock downs" and now are struggling to figure out why it didn't happen.
@@madisonatteberry9720 I remember that too, and just thinking, “anyone who thought this was going to lead to a baby boom is completely out of touch with how this is affecting people.” This pandemic showed the stark inequality this country faces, and how financially insecure a huge proportion of Americans are. It led to a baby bust, and it’s easy to see the health/financial reasons why.
Nanny States are expensive for the working class to bankroll. More social services= higher taxes= more hours working to just pay taxes before pocketing $1 On average you work 155 days per year just to pay tax in the USA.
"If the population is declining, why don't you have more children?" Were people seriously asking that? I'm inclined to think they were trolling, since it's common sense that raising a kid is a huge, expensive responsibility. Certainly not something you can just do on a whim unless you're friggin' rich.
@@markbrooks8623 In a pre -industrial society, children are an economic benefit. It's another set of hands in the field or the shop or the household, and even children too young to do a full day's work can mind their younger siblings for a bit and free up their mother for adult labour. But in an industrial society, most of those jobs are automated, industrialized, or the province of a poorly-paid underclass. Industrial jobs, even "blue-collar" ones require a fairly high level of literacy and education to perform, so children must be supported for years by their parents until they are sufficiently educated, with little help from the state or larger community.
@@digitaljanus you're just spouting simplistic stuff. USA spends multiple times more money on a per student basis than ANY OTHER country and yet our student performance is crashing. If not for foreign enrollment in graduate level science and engineering US would become 3rd world in a generation. Hard to believe just 50 years ago US schools produced enough engineers and scientists to propel NASA to the moon! Huge percentages of non-english speakers flood our grade schools and teachers unions and school admins keep practices in effect that delay and hinder English proficiency BUT guarantee jobs to ESL (English as Second Language) instructors. Some instructors are even being recruited from overseas. Wth? This is crazy.......and will not end well.
@@willbass2869 There is an idea... Instead of giving the money punctuality how about changing the system and get a free or very affordable education? Believe me it would solve a lot of problems
@@zohramartini9425 What do you mean The US already has free K-12 education(why do you think it has the largest spending per student?), which is the problem
I didn't knew that Japan is having so many problems... All of the documents in tv and books in my country, are not showing that. They always say "Japan is a Rich country", "Japan is the most technologically advanced country"... etc Only one program showed a small percent of that what You have said - the thing about rural cities. I've never been in Japan, but hearing this for some reason is starting to get me cry. I really really like japanese culture...
A lot of this is exaggeration. People look at the worst examples in Tokyo or Osaka and portray it as the whole country. But it's a different ball game out here in the Tokyo exurbs. I see lots of young families here, and when It's time to leave work, people go home..
I never could grasp the concept that it is commonplace to go out drinking with your boss and coworkers, where abstaining or going home instead marks you as a bad employee. There are people who don't like drinking and probably need to spend more time at home.
Depends on the company culture. Worked for two Japanese companies in my younger days. One did not mind me just going home afterwork. The other has a corporate culture that you need to drink with your boss and colleagues on a regular basis.
Thank you for keeping us up to date with Japan, even though I may never be able to live there, it feels as if I'm getting local updates of the situation and that's kinda a comforting thought.
Japan will never get rid of this problem until it realized that it should not allow its citizens to be exposed to a work culture that is not even suitable for robots!
I'm a bit confused. The population decline in a national view comes up a lot, but the overpopulation of the cities is also a discussion too, being pointed at as the problem with stuffed trains, small apartments and rising real estate costs in the city. So shouldn't the discussion about population decline get more specific about increasing populations in rural or suburban areas, where there's room, time and extra money for children and families?
Idk maybe rural but suburban areas aren't that great for raising children. Also most cities outside of Asia are not really dense so there is enough room for raising kids.
But where would all the people living in rural areas work to support their families, even if cost of living is less expensive in those areas? People are in urban areas because that's where the jobs are and because the society has become less agrarian. Of course, these days, a lot of jobs could be done virtually, but I don't think Japanese business leaders have accepted this. There seems to be a desire to see people in an office working insane hours each day, instead of being able to self-pace at home.
Definitely informative video,and it truly hit me with concerns.... I've always had a connection with Japanese culture,and japan in general. I hope things will get resolved on those topics in the near future, hopefully i will visit there... Much loves and GREAT blessing to JAPAN 🇯🇵
Labor issues are often felt when I go to Tokyo. I am a Japanese who does not live in Tokyo, but when I go to Tokyo I feel as if they are robots. It is often perceived as Japanese culture, but even as a Japanese myself, I feel this tendency is strong in Tokyo. The reason for this is probably due to the concentration of people in Tokyo. Because of the large number of people, people have to be uniform in order to avoid chaos and maintain order. By easing the concentration of people in Tokyo and dispersing them to the regions, cultural things may change.
It's peculiar that it's also the same here in Manila, capital of the Philipines. People have a tendency to go to the Capital fo find better opportunities and the city would often end up getting crowded.
I think japanese companies should do alot family fríendly changes.......like lower work hours but increased income. Financial stability and stable family life would increase the likelyhood of having children. The second aspect is when children never see how a functional relationship is established because one parent is always away, come home late or only come for sleeping.....why should they try for it. In some cases you can call it that is a single mother/father were the other parent occiasonally crash in there for sleeping. And the kids seeing how one parent struggle to do it all alone, which made having children later even less attractive. The other problem isnt just the companies/employer but the education system.....children were exposed high social pressure early on. So many came to the conclusion why should i expose my potential kids to it too, i wasnt happy with it and why should they suffer. In certain way you can also say individual happiness can be shared with friends and family, but overstressed and unhappiness would only bring misery to your beloved ones. I think for the future japan need radical changes..... why not doing the the same scales of reforms like hte one 200 years ago. Picking the best things in the world and combining it together. Like social experiments/advancement from finland, better work/life balance, affordable living, promote new industries, better work laws, better bureacracy.....in short term japan need also immigration to counter the labor shortage. But these are unpopular reforms for the elder part of japans population, so it would only discussed if the situation is very dire.
The work culture in Japan is SO bad that your essentially being treated like a machine and I really hope that eventually something is done about it before it’s too late.
Feels like this wouldn’t be a problem if they saw their immigrants as Japanese. 2nd, 3rd even 4th generation children of immigrants aren’t considered “Japanese” … I’ve friends of Brazilian, Filipino, and British descent who even though their parents were born and raised in Japan, still aren’t seen as Japanese. Also, Japan is one of the few countries that still have orphanages and so much stigma is associated with any kind of disability that many prefer to not have an “imperfect” child And I don’t blame young people not wanting to have kids, especially women. They saw their mothers be abused, be cheated on and then left with nothing. Most of these people also saw only one parent having to do everything because of the long hours of work.
Giving women economic rights without appropriate social rights means individual women are much better off childless. If people want us to reproduce so badly, they need to help pay for it and ensure we do not end up in desperate situations. We need to tear down the entire patriarchy, not just the part that prevented us from contributing to corporate bottom lines.
@@thecod2345 The original commenter described 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation immigrants being treated differently. My grandfather immigrated from Greece. I can't speak too much about my mother (though she hasn't really said anything that gave me the impression she was treated differently, she was born in the US), but I haven't been treated differently for being of Greek descent. Unfortunately, that comes with a lot of assimilation.
living on their soil doesn't make you Japanese, it's racial/biological. Half my family still lives in Germany, non-ethnic Germans are called auslanders even if they were there since after WWII especially if you are not white
But they are not Japanese. A mouse born and raised in a stall is not a horse. In Poland which is my country, only Polish people are Polish... no one looks at a foreign tourist or foreign student and says "look a Polish person!" since they know only white Slavic people with Polish ancestry are Polish. If anyone raised anywhere was considered the same as the people who lived there for thousands of years, then ethnicity and culture would not exist.
Anyone interested in the problems faced by Japan directly caused by a government that consistently puts itself above it's people should read the manga Akumetsu. I know of no other manga quite like it. The artist-writer has a really strong stance on corruption and mismanagement and - supernatural/action elements aside - lays out for the reader things I had no idea were happening (and I've here lived in Japan for 20 years). If you're a manga fan, check it out.
I live in the Netherlands. We offset de low birthdate with high levels of immigration. That evens out the economic problems, but it has it own set of problems with in the society en large.
The Netherlands with a smaller population would be preferable to the Netherlands+ hoards from the third world. It is too densely populated as it stands. Being slaves to the idea of constant economic growth will be the ultimate death of the Netherlands.
I’m Canadian working in Japan for over 10 years now. Salaries are very low. I have never received a salary increase in over 10 years. I receive no bonus, no benefits, am forced to work all National Holidays, and working conditions are extremely severe. I often complain, but am severely reprimanded for it. The Japanese work very, very hard and never, ever complain about very high demands for very little in return. My salary as an English teacher is $18K. Can’t wait to return to Canada.
@@andrewruddy962 Hi Andrew. The only way I can afford it is by living an extremely frugal lifestyle. I do all my own cooking and never spend an extra dollar on anything I don’t have to. I keep my cost of living to a minimum. Currently, I’m renovating my house in preparation to sell. Then I just need to wait for a buyer. I was able to purchase an old, traditional Japanese house on a large piece of property next to a forest. The countryside is lovely here, but extremely hot and humid in summer. The biggest downside to Japan is the social isolation. I’ve got lots of work to get done in preparation for my return to Canada. Then a lot of work ahead of me upon my arrival back home to get a home base established and find new employment.
@@DoritoBot9000 Hello. Thank you for your thoughtful, kind message. I usually do not get messages like yours. You are right. If I am not enjoying life, it is better to leave. I live in a big, comfortable, Japanese-style home and grow a lot of my own fruit and vegetables on my large property. My place is very private and has a beautiful view of the mountains. It is not so much that life is terrible here, it is just that I want more that I know Japan society can never provide. I want thought-provoking conversation with like-minded people and to do social activities with people I enjoy spending time with. These are just 2 simple examples. Neither of these will ever happen here in the countryside, no matter how long I live here. My goal is to return to Canada.
As an expert in AI, every time I hear people talking about "introducing AI into the workforce", I cringe a little. For me, it is like saying "introducing *computers* into the workforce". First, this technology is already being used right now in every vending machine (which are, technically, also a robot system) and Point of Sale... it is just applied on the server side to have a bigger amount of data to process and learn from. If you expect it too look like an humanoid robot... sorry, but that is too costly and inefficient. And second, even if some results look like magic, AI is just a tool and, thus, require human beings that know how it works to properly operate it. Yet, Japan is not creating enough data scientists, nor placing them in the right places in the company structures for them to have any real impact.
Am a computer scientist myself, I've even heard some fools in these comments that really think that AI will take care of us and even run society like we humans and that's the reason for not wanting to reproduce. I tell them even if that were true, AI would still need human intervention, in fact every technology does, and if not enough scientists were born, then who will create or maintain AI in the future. One guy actually said that the AI will be so intelligent that it will repair itself or even create other robots
I live in Japan and I've worked many jobs in the past few years thanks to COVID. Knowing how many places are run, even "introducing computers into the workforce" would be useful. Not enough hardware or knowledge. One place had a single computer for about 20 staff.
I’m not sure you know much about the Japanese work environment, and the video talks about it a bit, but basically many companies are run by old people and there’s a real lack of incorporating modern technology into the workplace/workforce.
This is an interesting argument. I recently stayed at a rather budget hotel in Shanghai, I was shocked to see that one of the "employees" was an AI robot (tin can shaped, had a voice to ask people to politely move, could take elevators, etc.) used to do some light cleaning and monitoring, perhaps some other things, I wasn't entirely too sure of all of its functions.
A Vietnamese Prince, titled Prince Hung Dao of Tran Dynasty, had left with all of us a lesson that not all Japanese ever listened: "Easing the burden of the people is the firm foundation, and also a must to preserve a nation!"
Meanwhile I remember my country's PM once said something like: "Work life balance? But our immigrants from less developed countries aren't so demanding." Which I fear might add new meaning to the phrase "race to the bottom"
It's a tragedy that Japan is declining. It will be a terrible loss to the world. I think most of the problem was that the Japanese people work too much long hours. Companies in Japan should encourage marriages and providing help for children.
@@suzygirl1843 You can have a democracy and still have policies considered "socialist" in order to help people have a better life. There should be a balance, a country doesn't turn communist with a few well thought ideas to help people, instead of milking them dry. Nordic countries have policies like that and they're some of the best to live in.
Its not tragedy, its actually a bless. Why do you think avg human have to work 30+ years just to buy a house? There is too many people, that's why. When half of population will finally pass, housing will become affordable and people will be able to have family.
@@blaud4020 this is nonsense, unless you consider a very small island or a microstate with extremely limited territory the cost of houses depends on completely different factors
@@Nisselak Not exactly. If owners can't find buyers for houses, they will decrease the prices. You can see it even in Japan. In Tokyo a flat the size of a shoe is extremely expensive, while in some rural areas you can rent a mansion for less. Supply and demand is everything.
Hey there, viewers of this informative video. As a person from another country living in Japan now, its obvious that there are many elderly people in Japan right now. I live in North Western Kanto, which is the Tokyo region for those that don't know. Its a small-ish town, with a lot of old buildings. Heck, my building is over 30 years old. But as I walk the streets and go around the town... Yes, I see a BUTT TON of eldery Japanese. You might think that it's because I am not in a major town. Well that's the thing. Its here where you can truly see that the population is aged and aging. All the young people in the big cities? They don't make up the large amount of elderly people in the outlining cities and beyond. As a teacher, I see 300+ students per day. But maybe that's not enough? I think the schools would be much more packed if the birth rate was up. Instead, I walk down the street and see a plethora of older people, and of course, it jumps from older people to students. I would like to buy some land here, have a house, and live here in Japan for the rest of my life. But without dual citizenship, I am not considered as a Japanese citizen. I can just hope to find someone nice to settle down with, and maybe it can become something more. But that is easier said than done, especially with Covid. So yeah. This video is spot on. And its a DAMNED shame.
I worked as an ALT for a year, so I saw firsthand the long hours that Japanese teachers work. If most Japanese workplaces are similar then I don't know how anyone even has time to have their own kids...
When I was in college, I read that Japan is, in land area, about the size of the State of Montana in the USA. Japan had, it was reported, about half the population of the entire USA. It was like half of all Americans living in an area the size of Montana. Add to that, only 1/7 of Japan's soil is arable (capable of growing crops) and most of that is under Tokyo. I was also led to believe that Japan produced no petroleum to fuel its economy and industry; all their oil had to be imported. At that time, Japan had a thriving economy that was growing each year (this was a long time ago, in the early 1970s). I can't believe everything I read, but at the time, it made sense. At least that is what was reported in books and other publications. Sorry my memory is so bad I can't recall the sources.
Right now is the easiest time in all of Japanese history to have children. Just a few reasons: -low infant mortality -better nutrition -access to doctors,meds, -financial incentives -better work life balance than in the past -greater gender equality than ever before -cheaper now than ever in history
The same is true in the developed world. The reality is that there is literal subsidization for the costs of raising children in the developed world, even in the USA.
I don't know how this channel ended up in my recommendations but I appreciate the calm, informative presentation. It's wild to think that in the near future, an entire generation will die off in Japan and the burden of crafting the future will fall squarely on the shoulders of multiple generations that have been struggling under the weight of decisions made a long time ago. I hope the Japanese people evolve and adapt their ideas about life and culture sufficiently to thrive in the modern era. It's a fascinating, beautiful place with many worldwide contributions to science, art, literature, and culture at large.
It will need a acceptance of different ways of living. I am from a central European country but living in Trinidad and Tobago where it is very normal to have more than one child not being married and perfectly integrated in the workplace. It is normal to pick up children from school and bring them to work. I working in a Hospital and it is quite normal to have several children in the Lunch Room doing school work in the afternoon. Father's also unmarried once will get locked up if they don't provide for their children. Mother's, and children are not punished for being unmarried, it is the norm! I don't say it is ideal but I am still impressed how Caribbean mother's are able to have children and still have a decent work!
I understand the shortage of labor and consumers and all, but 100 Mil + is still incredibly populated. The problem is with the previous generation still in power while holding dear to all the outdated methods/mindsets
I’ll be eligible for citizenship next year, but since Japan will never accept me for my skin color as someone who lives and belongs here, I’d never give up my own citizenship for Japanese. If there were duel citizenship I’d sign up right away. But at the same time, my Japanese wife and I have had many conversations about whether or not to have kids that we would never see do to work hours. If we did we would have a long hard look at whether or not to leave. So instead of increasing population by 1, we would have to bring it down by 3
Is it so easy to become a citizen of Japan, just because you're married to a Japanese person and have lived in Japan for x years? I was under the impression that it was virtually impossible for a foreigner to become a Japanese citizen.
In Serbia and the Balkan countries, we have a similar situation where people over the age of 45 stay to live in the Balkans, and young people go to live and work in Germany. And the birth rate is always in the negative, so From 2011 to 2022 Serbia lost 1 million people who moved away or died, and the saddest part is that Serbia has 6 million people. I'm 15 years old and since 2016 I've witnessed how one-third of the people I regularly see on the streets goes to live in Germany
They should just embrace communism. So the state will take care of the child. Of course, the parents will pay 1000% taxes in lieu of that. And no, that was not a typo. I wrote 1000% taxes.
It’s not just work culture, it’s also the crazy education system where children NEVER get to be children. I often see mums, dads & their little child walking to a kindergarten entry interview, dressed in their finest cloths. This leads to doing the same for elementary & high school, then a prestigious university. Plus after regular school you need to go to Juku schools till 9:00 at night. Summer “vacation” is only 6 weeks and you’re assigned more homework than if you were normally attending school. Most graduate Universities for the pride of working 14 to 16 hour days. There’s NOT enough day care centers here in Tokyo and rural areas have even less. Most kids don’t even begin to date until university age and even that is usually done in very organized unnatural ways. Lastly, I can say from experience that raising a child here is far more expensive than the states. Though I do my best to teach my son to take a different path, I see he’s being indoctrinated to follow others. It’s not at all surprising, that very few want to bring a new born into this society
I think something worth addressing is the lack of benefits available to people who want to have children but who are low-income. For example, in the US there is the WIC program to help pay for Women, Infants, and Children. There are also SNAP benefits to offset food costs for low-income families and individuals. There is not similar support like this to couples who are pregnant, although there is some financial support from the government for single mothers. If you don’t have a very solid job with maternity/paternity benefits or if you are low income, it is difficult to have enough support to have kids. I think this is classist and works against the well-being of the greater society. Luckily, health insurance is free or subsidized for children and some municipalities also have free or subsidized childcare for low-income families. But the lack of support for a generation of would-be parents who have been cheated of stable jobs due to structural problems is a huge issue. Especially when so many of these families want kids or would make excellent parents. We are all responsible for the next generation, you shouldn’t have to be rich to be able to raise your children with dignity.
From France: we have a lot of daycare and nanies and financial support for people who have the lowest income. Paid maternity leave, paid paternity leave, laws against discrimination about pregnancy, work 35 hours a week and 5 weeks of vacation each year, and much more... our birth rate is declining a little bit because of eco anxiety. If you look at our news, you can see french people demonstrating .the government thinks it's necessary for the workers to stay at work until they are 64. Now it's 62. Young people will struggle to find work and to raise child's if the law passes... France is in a better situation because society and laws are most softer ...
Shogo-san, just want to take a moment to appreciate the work that you and your team do to share these things for your audience to learn about Japan and the current societal climate. Your level-headed manner of explaining things and being objective opened my eyes and made me understand deeper what really is happening
I love japan too much to see it fade away like this, i would love to try and help or give advice or recommendations, but honestly, change must come from japanese society, and the japanese government, first. If they have no willingess to adapt, this situation will keep snowballing out of control.
I can always count on a level headed and nuanced video from you, Shogo. While this can be a panicking subject, this discussion desperately needs a level headed but persistent approach. And like many others have already said, this is one aspect of Japanese health that negatively reflects from the toxic work culture that desperately needs changing. Japan really needs to take a step back and reassess what it wishes to prioritize, as this mix of Western capitalism with Japanese social traditions has created serious pressure on the human environment and mental and physical health.
Shogo, you should make a video about how the large elder population shape government policy and how it can stifle growth due to being overly conservative. I think that unless the majority of the voting block changes, there will be no governmental incentive for change.
I think the main problem is the insane work culture that Japanese companies imposes. If people are too tired from working, they won't have time to build a proper family. This ultimately becomes a downward spiral where the population is declining, increasing the burden of the current workforce, making them even more stressed and not able to have children/build their own family. The burden is also worsened by the increasing number of elderly people who needs social security to support them, as you have said in the video. If Japan doesn't have sufficient funds, then they may have to borrow more money, increasing the already balloning national debt.
It's actually crazy how so many of Japan's problems could be solved if we just got rid of its crazy work culture.
They could do it by forcing workers to leave early but that’s not obviously what the japanese society is aiming for. It could be argued that the crazy work hours is an essential part of japanese traditions and culture enforced by the older men leading companies who are also involved in politics and respected because of their age.
Or hire foreign workers to take over those crazy hours and let Japanese worker work jus 9-5 hours but they are prejudice against foreigner. Look at US and see why it needs legal immigrant even though US in the past is like Japan very anti-foreigner. You can't be a powerful country if you have a decline population with a decling economy
Japan would still surf form other issue but it'll make it a little better
@@Ghostmaxi1337 wouldn't that make things worst
@@USSAnimeNCC- I meant that in the context of the OP, as such, getting rid of the closed borders.
The work culture is a problem. If you're basically only home long enough to sleep and go right back to work, there simply isn't time to meet someone, marry, and have kids. Plus, many of those young people grew up in situations where at least one parent was gone a lot for work. I can't blame someone for deciding they don't want to continue that cycle.
Having kids while you have a job that requires you to meet your customer or attend offices also problematic.
In most cases the parents left the kid to the their grandparents. Finding someone who can take care babies isn't simply and it's also expensive.
What's the use of such a life then?
If you are earning and can't spend it on anything. Like go clubbing etc why even bother working so hard. Just make enough to get food and other essentials.
And don't forget your one day off a week is fully scheduled for a child's sports days or other school functions. I understand why men don't begin families.
@@user-qy9rg3nt2l Having kids comes at a cost of sacrificing your time for the kids. This is universal.
@@veffiesdda965 Just putting it in context for those not working 6 day work weeks, 12 hour days, then expected to hang out in bars with coworkers afterwards.
The family registration issue is horrible. A child deserves being taken care of and being accepted, no matter what. It’s as if this innocent child is supposed to carry a shame. Totally inhumane.
I AGREE. It's like the child is set up to fail just because their parents are unmarried.
even muslim won't treat a kid out of wedlock like that,
How are Muslim children out of wedlock treated?
"at least in my country, idk about middle east"
but whole family will still accept them and register them on family registration. i think about family registration problem is big for the kid
@mariatorres6066 ..According to islamic law, any child born out of wedlock is treated as a normal child without blame placed upon the child, because the child is considered innocent and without sin, the child is entitled to full citizenship of the land he or she is born upon and he can inherit the citizenship of "his or her" mother, but not the father's citizenship. Also since the mother is unmarried, the child cannot take the father's name. The child must take the mother's name and the child is not allowed to inherit from the father, however the child can inherit from the mother.
Japan must make a choice, slow down, allow its citizens to be human beings and not means of capital, or continue to work themselves into a once-great nation.
You do realize it's not just Japan.
.
It's a global problem.
.
We can feed and house everyone but it's not profitable to those at the very top
@@dandywaysofliving the video is about Japan, we are talking about Japan
@@rougestarlight4308 Japan doesn't exist in a vacuum. Other nations must be considered.
@@dandywaysofliving how many people do you help or house?
Hikikomori is bad there
INSANE work hours, extream stress (reduces fertility in both men and women), lack of child care options, mental health problems not being addressed, and so many other things.
So true. And uh, bullying, social laws and discrimination against foreigners or themselves like how they look and act are also stressful, which many people simply think not have a kid because they don't want the kid to go through all these bad things.
sounds a lot like the U.S.
@@lukashenrique4295 yeah, I have an acquaintance stationed in Okinawa plus a Japanese pen pal from childhood. They've been telling me about this kind of stuff for years.
@Kazuma Yoshikaze / 義風一真 yeah, same here in America; if you don't go to college you will never get wealthy. I'm glad that I went to a technical community college. I got both my certification and an associates.
@@erikagehm2805 colleges doesn't you'll be wealthy it mean you won't be poor you have to be lucky to get rich Joe Rogan didn't go to college and is rich meanwhile my uncle who work at it is middle class their luck to being rich than just working hard yay being said go to college so many job want college degrees and even you don't go to a job the don't need that go to expand you horizon, view point, and learn something you'll like or helpful to your life you make work as an electrician or run a small business but you can do literature as a side hobby or side job
My dad currently lives in Japan with his wife and they're both Filipino. His wife is a citizen because she was married to a citizen there who was japanese just to let you know. My dad faced lots of prejudice at his old work. They thought he was arrogant because he can speak English. They do not like foreigners even if you're half. Her oldest daughter is in the philippines maybe because of that. My brother was stationed there for atleast 2 yrs and he said that the younger generation are more accepting but he did go to a bar that told him no foreigner is allowed to come in. They weren't mean to him but they had signs showing that he's not allowed in there. I hope that Japan fixes the problems. It might be horrifying to see that a race can become extinct. That's some Sci fi stuff!
Nah, Japan will just become populated by robots instead of people.
Are there foreigner only bars?
Hey tell your brother it’s awesome that he served in the military. I was in US Army as 11B stationed in JBLM, WA
The bars totally make sense (mainly in the south and Osaka and Okinawa) where US soldiers frequently go into fight, refuse to pay their tab, and a rude with the regulars.
@@GamingTranceSeer Yes, near military bases (more then 25 mil insta in Japan) very sadly. Mil only bring prostitutions bad values, belittle the locals, and maintain Japan in a hostage/colony state.
"Why don't you just.. have more kids?" always comes from people who already have kids and are well off, or people who have no idea how much it costs to have children.
I have a friend who already has 3 kids and she is only in her later 20s. And she came from a poor background but managed to work hard and secure enough of a livelihood with her husband to secure a family. It is not impossible. People have different experiences and can still succeed.
@@toledochristianmatthew9919 exactly, i know some Pookie and Ray Rays that never had a job in their life, but have 10+ children.
@@toledochristianmatthew9919 but why tho.. I personally don't want to bring a child to this miserable world especially if I can't give them a comfortable life. Why need to deliberately drag an innocent life to suffer poverty and hardship with you.
69 👍
And in reality, the poorer somebody, or a country the higher number of children they have, so that is a bad excuse. Bigger wealth doesn't lead to a higher number of children but lower (until a certain point, because the richest few percent tend to have more children).
Some of the most vivid memories I have of my Japan travels is witnessing the high amount of exhausted people on the trains and buses, both students and adults. And the high amount of lone salarymen everywhere.... walking alone, eating alone, drinking alone, looking absolutely depressed and on the verge of "karoshi". It was so heartbreaking to see. The overwork culture is one of the primary reasons why the population has been declining rapidly. People have almost no time for a social life, let alone proper self-care 😞
Been on the train in NYC lately?
Your not allowed to sleep on the trains in Arizona. What a cultural shock.
Having visited Japan for the first time not too long ago, yeah I noticed that myself. Also going into the arcades in Tokyo and they are all packed with men in business suits glued to the games they're playing. I'm guessing if that's what they're doing during their off time, it doesn't leave much time for a social life.
You are so correct and real talk. That’s true.
And also this is the reason why thousands of Filipinos working in Japan as entertainers, modern and cultural entertainers, bands, singers, dancers ect and if you remove Filipinos in Japan more crazy no life. No nightlife.Everybody just working until they retire
@@danteopulent or working until they die...
Japan's problem is pride, specifically national pride. Many countries have this problem, but it's worse in Japan because of the strong national identity, etc. Japan has a lot of great things. But, national pride has prevented Japan from changing. I've been in Japan for 20+ years. I hope this country changes soon because the people are fantastic.
This is a great observation.
Their pride is what makes them retain their Japanese identity. So don’t complain.
@@plumeria66 You can be humble and Japanese at the same time.
@CC-zl9nm I think what he means is that they have pride in the sense that they care to preserve that identity that an outsiders/foreigner does not share/understand. They aren't really boastful about it. They just don't want to have it diluted which is the problem with the immigration approach.
@@MrSupercat48 Thank you. Exactly what I meant.
Families living out in remote jungle bamboo villages in rural Bangladesh were asked why the birth rate had declined so rapidly to only an average of two children per family from 7+ children per family two generations ago. The answer was that their parents and grandparents were nuts for having such large families (where nearly half of the kids died before adulthood), and that raising kids was expensive. S'truth!
still taking examole of Bangladesh india and African countries is a bit out of context we have to acknowledge that in the same wirld a country can be underpopulated and other overpopulated
@@kkm1194 No, the point was even families in remote Bangladesh were having fewer children because of the expense of raising kids and having big families is nuts. All around the world, except for Africa, large families have been declining.
@@sejembalm In the Philippines that is only true for the middle class. The upper class and the lower class are still making a lot of babies. The latter just, as usual, can't afford them, while among the former are people who can afford that many kids because they're skimming off taxes. Taxes paid by people who choose to limit how many children they'd have (which in some cases, would be ZERO).
@@sejembalm they had more children in the past because they had no access to contraception and because children in subsistence farming societies were not an expense but an asset, they worked in the fields for no pay.
'Feminism' conquered the world.
That's it.
I live in Japan and my wife (Japanese) and I have actually considered leaving Japan due to the fact that we can literally see Japan crumbling all around us.
People are dying from overworking
Salaries haven't increased in 20+ years, while cost of living continues to rise
Most of the population is over the age of 65
Birth rate severely low
Kids go to school, and when schools over they go to cram school, then then they do homework until they pass and start school again in the morning.
Government is highly and openly xenophobic
There has been very little technological advancement in the last 20+ years.
I could go on much longer, but I think the point has been made.
Japan has lost its creativity. Korea has become more prosperous with the K drama and Samsung and LG products. My last TV was a Sony but my new TV is now LG. What happened to Sony?
I have a wealthy friend who plans on moving there soon to get out of USA. It is very nice there IF you are a handsome foreigner and have money.
@@elinope4745 to be fair you can have a nice life pretty much anywhere if you have a lot of money.
As someone with a Japanese spouse who recently fled Japan to return to the US; allow me to add this to your list...every legitimate concern you mentioned was made 1,000x worse by GOJ's continued inept response to C19.
@@scully392z Moved to California
I think the biggest problem is how ridged Japan is in its traditional society. Having children and having an 80 hour work week dont go together. You can't have both unless it's society view changes its never going to get better.
It sounds cruel but at this rate, any cultural change in Japan will organically happen only when the old, ruling population has died out. Japan has a long history and people have long memories. As long as that memory of a booming, prosperous era of Japan persists, aversion to change remains. Memories turn to myths and this one has joined Bushido in the Japanese social pantheon.
It's too late
And this should be a lesson to everyone who gets old never be sent in your ways.
What needs to change is an economic system that relies on an ever-increasing population to feed it. A reduction in population is prudent considering 50% of current jobs will have been made obsolete by mass-automation and AI within the next 25 years, especially on an archipelago the size of California that is 85% mountainous, non-arable land on which Japanese can't grow enough to sustain it's current population.
Why not just cull them?
@@gordonbgraham i don't think the self reliability of a country on it's food sector is a very logical metric to use in the modern globalised age. Many countries seem to be doing okay while reliying on foreign imports for a chunk of their food.
I was born in the US, but I am a descendant of Filipino immigrants. In high school in NYC in the 1980s I learned Japanese, and my teacher even found us pen pals so we could practice our hiragana. I went to visit my penpal in Shibaraki prefecture and went to Japan as a graduation present. I loved it! My penpal emigrated to the US and went to UCLA in California. It’s a little sad because it seems the Japanese is losing its population. My penpal is a doctor now, and I think she left Japan because she wanted a career, not to be a housewife.
😂😂 Strong and Independent. Manifest you're dreams
Mah, that's alrite. The japanese are disappearing in penance for their crimes in WWII. The brazilians and ASEANs peeps will care take of japan in their place.
From za warudo!
Maybe you meant Ibaraki Prefecture 😅
@@murimurimrui Ayy don't forget us Indians tho We are manufacturing ceo's left and right 👍🏼
The problem will never really go away until we finally Globally acknowledge that the way we live as a collective is unsustainable in innumerable and immeasurable ways.
Except the alternative is just as worse and allowing generations to face collapse after collapse in search of Utopia will see this planet destroyed before its founded.
It could be.
@@dumpsterDeity The planet itself will be fine. It's the life living on its surface that will face destruction.
capitalism isn’t sustainable
@@Bubble__Brisome life, well, most of the complex land life. There'll be enough left for evolution to continue
I used to teach English in Japan and one of my kindergarten classes got completely wiped from the schedule because there weren't enough children being born to populate the class. I've always heard about the declining birth rate, but I never thought it would directly affect my income.
The last sentence was so funny 🤣 to me. Even tho it's a sad situation 😭
which city is that if you don’t mind me asking? There is also a shortage of kindergartens/educators in the cities that I know just because it’s not profitable at all as a business model and not highly paid
@@theonh9365 I had teaching jobs in both Nagoya and Gamagori, but the kindergarten class that was cut was in Gamagori.
Not having kids tanks economies
Honestly I've heard from many foreigners that they wouldn't want to raise a kid in Japan, and from all the stories from the insane school culture, the bullying, the stress on children... I can understand not just their point of view, but the point of view of anyone in Japan who would seriously think about having a child. Especially since hikikomori have become a more known problem (not saying they themselves are the problem, it's the culture that makes them that is.)
You're likely to get bullied if you're not their kind. But if you're a Japanese the bullying might not be so rampant if you fall in line but then again something needs to change especially in the government
I've lived in Japan since 1988, more than 30 years and have raised 5 kids here. I wouldn't want to raise a family anywhere else including and especially my native Canada where home-ownership is out of reach for the working class. The average cost of a home in Japan is $300,000, the average cost of a home in Canada is $800,000. If you are anywhere close to Toronto or Vancouver, triple that! Canada's healthcare system used to be the envy of the world, now you have to wait up to a year for an MRI. I've had 3 operations in Japan for which I had to wait under a week for an MRI. From diagnosis to operation each took less than 3 weeks! Japan has the best health care system on the planet. Also, home ownership is a possibility for even low-wage earners. I recently bought a 3 bedroom home on a 1/4 lot 50 minutes from Ikebukuro, central Tokyo for the equivalent of $150,000 CD. The same home would have cost me at least 10 times that in Canada. All of my kids have either been through or are in the public school system. We couldn't be happier with the genuine care and attention they've received. We're thrilled with the attention to personal responsibility elementary school put on our kids, which has made discipline in the home much easier. Japanese high school students annually rank in the top 5 in international testing for math, science and literacy. Quality education is free up to and including high school for those who can't afford it. Post secondary education is relatively cheap with most undergraduate degrees costing less than $50,000. Canada has an estimated 250,000 homeless people with a population of 40 million. Japan has an estimated 4,000 homeless with a population of 165 million. Canada also has a drug issue with opioids and all kinds of drugs in its high schools. As a parent in Japan, that's one less thing I have to worry about, as there are next to zero drugs in the schools. The Japanese government provides stipends for kids up until and including jr. high school. We receive ￥15,000 per month for our kids prior to high school. We also were awarded a grant of ￥300,000 for each child to cover hospital expenses above and beyond what our national insurance plan covered. There are a myriad of other reasons why Japan is the best place to have and raise children...but I'll leave it at that for now. Moving to Japan from Canada was the best decision I've ever made. By far
Yes, I am sure if I had to grow up in Japan, I would be another tragic statistic by age 12.
@@gordonbgraham and Japanese population declines and Canada's population increases what could be the reason
@@sebastian-dp9vq Canada's population has increased due to immigration. Japan's population is levelling out to a more sustainable level in an age in which mass-automation and AI will have made 50% of current jobs obsolete within the next 25 years. Also, Japan is an an archipelago roughly the size of California (40 million) and 80% of it is mountainous, non-arable land on which food can't be grown. Japan can't rely on a demographic model that requires endless population growth. It's naturally and prudently levelling out to a more sustainable level.
I'm about to give birth in Japan. Honestly it is so expensive, even with the grants the government. If I get pregnant again I am definitely going back home to give birth. I'm not surprised nobody wants to have children, especially because nobody has much money these days.
I wondered why so often in the manga I read the characters would constantly have a parent or both parents constantly gone for work.
wait....
so THATS why ash ketchum never had a dad???
I keep thinking, "Oh, they must have a single parent/are orphans" because you NEVER see the other parent.
Like Deku from BNHA. I thought his dad was dead or something
And it's not uncommon manga stories that people being isekai'd to different worlds.
It is very sad to see that the historic and cultural traditions that shaped Japan we all know are killing it in the modern environment.
If it comes to choosing between preserving uniqueness and having a future, I hope Japan makes the right choice.
Culture is constantly changing even if you don't like it. Comments like this never make any sense to me. It's normal for cultures to evolve. No culture stays the same for thousands of years.
@@stonedzebra420 this issue isn’t just culture changing. It never will be just that culture is changing. Everything and everyone changes. The issue is that traditions that are unique to you are slowly fading out and that goes for everyone. My parents are Bosnian and we live in the US. We used to do a bunch of stuff that was kinda unique to our culture but the longer we’re here I notice that it all kinda fades away. We used to hold huge family parties, make rotisserie lamb, have certain exchanges that are unique to our culture as well as certain formalities when exchanging gifts and or going to peoples houses etc. it’s kinda like having a certain thing you and your friends do and everyone just not giving a crap anymore when you liked all the shiz y’all used to do together. Also I’m sure Japan is just seeing the slow but sure collapse of places like the USA and is trying desperately to not replicate it. At a certain point having too much freedom leads to over complicating issues that might not even be there which is probably why we’ve seen them crack down on some stuff.
Sorry that was a lot to read.
@@MugiwaraElvin I heard that. Freedom’s fun until it leads to chaos…
Well, Japan is basically a giant suicide cult. It's only logical that would happen.
Ah, Thailand is in the same boat...
The idea of Japan one day not existing makes me feel very sad, as I adore Japan so much. Granted, I will not be alive by the time it disappears if your video is accurate, but I will live through seeing it decline which is upsetting. I hope that soon, the problems you are all facing over there will have working solutions made and that this can either be reversed, slowed down, or that it can be evened out at least.
NOOO A N I M E W I L L C E A S E T O E X I S T
Nope 100% won't happen, this is irreversible, but after a total economy breakdown, when women will need men again for survival, then this will start to get better again, should take around 60 to 80 years. They will have to go into a third world phase first.
When government replace men, this phenomenon ALWAYS happens. (protection, money, social order, etc)
For women, the problem of being less flexible also adds to the problem, as employers like to have people who are able to work from Monday to Sunday, at best whenever they are needed, and women with children cannot do that. Therefore, their choice of jobs gets more limited, and often, they do not get jobs which are every well paid. If the couple separates, women often grow extremely poor, when they have children.
@@shirohanakurohana thats the sad realty and the even worst think curse of Germany has a very old population too the rulers make poletics for the elderly and are all time only think till the next election at best so no change
if only companies have the understanding what they can contribute to the country and future generations if they hire part time mums, when the kids turn to teens, they can start look after themselves so their mothers can transition back to full time
@@fatdoi003 companies dont have long term plans anymore the only plan till the next quarter earnings call
@@KiteDrache then the government should step in and give benefits to the companies employ part time mothers......
and there is the problem government just thinking aboute the big voter grupes and mothers are not a big grupe or is this just a problem where i come from
Out of all the things I've read and listened to about Japan over the decades I never thought the biggest cultural shock would come from something like the legal status of "illegitimate" children. This is INSANE.
Agreed. That and the father of divorced children can opt out of supporting them if he wishes. That is an insane neglect of responsibility. jmho
@@johnrowland2887 it's even crazier that if the parents aren't married the father can simply "not acknowledge" the child, much less pay any child support. Every child has the right to know who their father is, get that tramp a DNA test STAT! Seriously, I'm a man and this is blowing my mind, the government doesn't care about kids _at all,_ it's a misogynist's wet dream.
@@johnrowland2887 It is kind of logical.
Because Japan is not monogamous originally so yes there is illegitimate children, as you know women used to be well known for their infidelity, it still is a problem.
@@johnrowland2887 Eh that's not THAT crazy.
It’s like how everyone was joking that during lockdown there’d be a baby boom. Really? Folks are loosing their jobs, loosing loved ones, getting a long term illness after getting infected, facing mass stress, are completely unsure as to the future of the world, and you think that makes (responsible) adults want to have babies?
It was a small minority of people saying that.
@@floridaman318 it was a loud minority
@@glassycreek1991Rich people IMO.
No human generation has had it worse then you right?
Even if I had the finances to raise children, I don't think I could be an absent parent from working a crazy schedule. Having children and barely seeing them due to long work hours feels the same as not having any kids for me. I want to be able to spend enough time to see them grow and be involved in their lives.
And you would be correct. I had one of those fathers. We didn’t have an actual relationship until I was 20. He regrets it to this day.
@@DoritoBot9000 I'm glad he did realize eventually. I hope your relationship is ever-improving and will continue to be as such
@khmerboi253-this has become the norm everywhere children looked after by nannies so until children do not say anything it is ok else they will say when they are old enough so better if work hours are 8-4 with basic education higher education health care free chid care 100% free not just for few weeks then automatically population will rise there will be no need to discuss all these things else just for the sake of population nowadays people will not have kids
Even knowing how this harms children, selfish people have children and barely give any time and then want others to respect them and their children to look up to their neglectful behind.
Just as an outsider looking in and also taking a peek at the Meiji restoration (the rapid industrialization of Japan). Japan moved forward with their tech but not their culture. This unwillingness to change (socially, work, their views on outsiders, etc) because it's not traditional is absolutely insane to me (again as an outsider looking in) and imo, although this is an extreme oversimplification, it's what's really killing Japan is this unwillingness to change anything and to have an iron grip on ideas and practices that don't have a place in the modern developed age.
Yes, and it's not limited to Japan. Any area of any country that has unwillingness to change or to even acknowledge that the most of the rest of the world is changing will doom that area to slow/no growth and will have great difficulty attracting businesses into the area. In the US these areas usually slow, steady brain drain. I wonder if that's occuring in Japan, or at least parts of it.
Wait i think you misspelled all of eastern asia.
UAE and Qatar are very traditional countries with a strong economies.
High taxation and a nanny state are most likely the problem not traditionalism.
@@ShomoGoldburgler because they know how to adapt.
@@tink6225 culturally they are very traditional like japan, but economically they are very free market minded.
High taxes/ high cost of living and heavily regulated economies = decline in population.
You can know all the steps needed to fix a problem, but it's very difficult to put the brakes on a culture.
Especially if there are people out there that doesn't know the problem or are aware of it and don't care.
We moved to Japan in the early 90's. We had two children there. The thing that surprised me was that health insurance did not cover the hospital stay because having children was "not a disease", so for our second child, we went to a midwife clinic instead. So, immediately at birth, there's an expense.
As a foreigner, our children were born illegal aliens. We were given a month to get them a passport for our country of origin, then get a visa, and alien registration cards, which was a a fair bit of work at a time when the internet was not yet a resource.
We left Japan when I started working for a manager who did not like foreigners. He wrote my position out of the budget, even though I was saving purchasing costs by an amount greater than my salary. Constructive dismissal. I'd had enough.
It was not that we were not contributing to society. We did volunteer work when we could.
After leaving we had two more children. It is true that children are an expense, but also it depends what your priorities are in life.
I can't imagine, in Europe childbirth is definitely covered by health insurance and there are many tax and money incentives for parents, the influx of refugees, as much as parts of the population protest, is also helping with keeping up the work force for economies like Germany.
@@c.w.8200
Europe is demographically finished, one generation and it's 3rd world, why would you want to destroy Japan too?
@@cottoncandykawaii2673 what do you mean by "demographically finished"
@@quietuptown78
replacement immigration of the native stock with 3rd worlders, several cities including Paris, London, Frankfurt, etc are already majority foreigners
@@cottoncandykawaii2673 "Native Stock"? Those are people, not cattle. Immigration is how we get stronger muh dude
Shogo-san, I think this isn't a Japan-only problem, but a developed country problem. Japan's neighbors are also seeing a decline in birthrates, and in a lot of the developed countries in the western world as well. I think we don't need an explanation why the world is having less kids considering how bad the global economy is, the fast-paced of life is, and the values the working world is imposing on the people. Color me surprised but in the Philippines, it saw a slowdown in birthrate from 2020 and I think, it will probably continue due to the worsening economy. Just ask any 20-something adult now on will they have kids, listen to what those who don't want to. With the track of the world today and the man-made difficulties that people unwillingly impose on themselves, we're in for a population decline not only in Japan, but worldwide as well.
Well, there are too many people in the world. Nature is taking care of itself
I'm from the Philippines, it's our terrible politics and economic woes, a sort of vengeance against our parent generation to 'end the cycle of misery,' rising cost of produce, declining (as if it was high to begin with) quality of living, and urban life.
But mostly -- you hear this everywher -- this stab against the older gens who allowed this all to happen, my generation, who are better off btw, are the ones refusing to bear kids and have more live in this horrendous country. It's the ignorant schmucks who keeps having children here and passing on their culture of stupidity.
@@suzygirl1843 It isn't. Look at Middle East and Africa where religion still drives people to have lots of children.
Look at migrants from said territories in the West.
Other day I met a security guard; poor English skills, minimal wage, works only 10 hours a WEEK, living on Universal Credit (basically stealing money of hard-working people with blessing of the law), prays 5 times a day and brags that he has 5 children. When he should be ashamed that a lazy thief like him is even alive.
@@suzygirl1843 Welcome to the final stage of John Calhoun's mouse Utopia.
@@suzygirl1843 Maybe my country's environmentalists will join the opposition to the gov't's population white paper that plans for an increased population, if that necessitates more deforestation to build more houses for more people
I worked for a Japanese pharma company. 200 people were laid off due not to low/slow US sales but because the founder promised a certain rate of return to Japanese investors, most of whom are retired. He won’t adjust the return to match the company’s actual profits so if you lay off employees you save money and can pay unrealistic returns.
A literal way of failing to adapt to the times. Sometimes I shake my head at the bullheadedness of older Japanese people
Saw a dad struggling with his baby girl at the airport to calm her down and I helped with my Pikachu plush. One of the happiest moment during my trip. It wasn’t until a little later did I notice, that little girl was one of the few babies I actually saw during my month long stay there. I see more children at my job in half a week than I did the entire month there. If you ask me, if the Japanese workforce decides to chill out on the overwork and people learn to take a chance(or let the government take that chance for them) on romance, you’ll start seeing more babies.
their harmony-is-priority culture means change cannot happen quickly and aggressively. It can only be cajoled through subtle and cheerful messages... Given the elderly make up a big voting power, politicians don't have much incentives to please the youth. Nobody will play a long game.
In the words of my dad (himself a late baby boomer born in 1956), "things wouldn't change much until all of us die". He's an economic centrist and socially liberal, which is a rarity of his generation. The death of the boomers is going to be rapid and disastrous, and the younger generation unfortunately has to brace for it, without being given enough tools and resources. Millennials like me in particular are cursed.
@@nastyayoyo4963 do you think if they stripped voting power from the majority of the public leaving it only to a group of select adults ranging from young to old but everybody is seen on equal grounds, with issues from each generation being brought up help. Seems some young adults being made to step up might be useful. Though with young people who are already stressed, this might be way too much, huh?
Interesting enough, this is why the Law factions in the Shin Megami Tensei series has such a negative vibe to it. All order and no change. Harmony no matter the cost. This mentality leads to stagnation and right now Japan is failing to see this. Heck I think entire world is failing to see this.
@@victoriazero8869 "economic centrist and socially liberal" is actually quite common, if your Dad is from the US. It's a position held by neo-liberals, establishment conservatives, libertarians, and conservatives who want to distance themselves from southern conservatism. In other words, the vast majority of boomers would describe themselves as such.
You may say it's distinct, since they used the term "economic centrist" instead of "economic conservative", but in the modern day US, being a centrist is the cornerstone of neo-liberalism. The two are, in every measure, the same.
I think there will be a rebirth of Japan after the old generations pass away and people realising the need for a change. They are limiting their evolution as a society and their well being.
Younger people can adapt to the modern world outside of Japan, it's the old mindset of Japan that don't want the changes...
Hi, I think it might be important to add mental health to this convo as well. I.e. “s*icide”, crippling depression, self isolation, work place PTSD. Especially in regards to Japanese work culture, and expectations. If we don’t address mental health issues that can create a whole other can of worms :(
The train being delayed due to a suicide is not unexpected in Japan. I remember even the Shinkansen was held up for me a couple times because of this when I lived there. It's really tough....
Worst case scenario, the people in Japan snapping and go a homicidal rampage on anyone that wronged them, which is a major fear that could happen pretty soon.
I can’t think of something so horrifying as the decline or disappearance of Japan. Japan’s culture and effect on the world would make its’ loss a tragic event. I can only pray that someone with vision will rise up. And though the battle would be difficult hopefully success can be achieved to preserve Japan. Allow me to be selfish and say prayers for the people of Japan.
Unfortunately... "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down". Don't think I need to say more.
@@harrygeocaris3179 seems we need stronger nails…
@@kingrobotnik6950 quite the can-do attitude you've got there. Unfortunately, with the culturally entrenched and long-standing 'don't rock the boat' and 'don't disrupt the puplic harmony' mentally that permeates Japan I'm not holding my breath. Personally I'm worried that said culture is going to end up just like ancient Sparta. Another iconic and distinctive society that REFUSED to adapt to changing circumstances and doggedly held to a specific worldview and way of doing things right up until their society quite literally withered away.
if they went back to breeding, it'd be just as much a loss because then they'd be like poorer countries like the US
@@harrygeocaris3179 hopefully globalization can help overcome that, assimilation is the natural conclusion to the meeting of cultures. With dissatisfaction as the major driving force to change, though it might just lead to the equivalent of a "brain drain" for culture.
This is happening in most of the industrialized world. The fundamental problem is that the conditions simply are not conducive to raising children. No space, as living space is hugely expensive in any place close to work; and no time, because either one has a high-paying job where one puts in lots of hours, or one has about three low-paying jobs, where one puts in lots of hours. Children require the supervision of an adult to raise... maybe not constant supervision, but more than 20 minutes in the morning and an hour at night.
You say that but the places with the highest birth rates are generally places with even worse conditions. So your theory makes zero sense in reality.
@@stephenjenkins7971 Of which places are you thinking?
@@LMinem Somalia, Congo, Mali. Just from a quick Google search on the highest birth rates on the planet.
In non-industrialized countries, people typically just do subsistence farming or some work just enough to get by and maybe have some leftover for emergencies. Having a kids then is a way to increase wealth by having more available labor or something that just happens due to lack of access to birth control. It’s also common for older kids to take care of their younger siblings; there isn’t so much of an idea of “letting kids be kids”, so to say.
In industrialized countries, kids are seen more as something to enrich one’s life by having that sense of accomplishment of having raised a functional adult or relishing the parent-child bond. It’s also encouraged for kids to enjoy their childhood without being saddled with expectations to work on a family farm all day or take care of their younger siblings beyond maybe watching them for a few hours occasionally while the parents are away.
We could lower the standard of kids’ lives and have more since we would invest in each child less, but that’s considered unacceptable and parents don’t want to do that.
As an example (albeit maybe a bit extreme), my great-grandmother had 10 kids, but they were just a farming family, so the kids often worked on the farm and the older kids took care of their younger siblings regularly. It wouldn’t be possible for even an upper middle class family, much less a rural farming family to raise those kids in these times to the standard expected. It would take very rich parents now to afford all 10 kids each their own bedroom, birthday present, some holiday present, family vacation (even if it’s just a camping trip a few hours away), extracurricular opportunities, treats and toys just throughout the year, etc - all considered normal standards for a middle class family in the industrialized world.
TL;DR: The standards for raising kids is much higher than it used to be. It’s not really possible for people to have as many kids as they have had several generations ago, or they don’t want to, even with ample support.
@@trawrtster6097 I like how "TLDR" is pretty much an interchangeable phrase for "In conclusion". Regardless, I love what you wrote!
Japan has a core issue to solve this but is too afraid to remove the issue. This is usually just the problem with two things:
1. Work Culture
2. Views on Foreign relations
I do hear however now that this may be changing due to Japanese 'Gen Z.' If so, maybe Japan has hope.
It felt that the Japanese doesn't want to admit they have a workaholic problem and a major population decline problem that could had been easily addressed.
Japan will need 50 percent fewer people working thanks to machine labor. Keeping the current population would only create plenty of unemployed people who can’t make it without money from those who work
Japanese workplace culture needs to change from top to bottom. Unless the leadership changes first, things will remain the same, even if the bottom changes first. This is an obvious thing, but it's something that's hard to accept by most people at the tippy top, mostly because of their hardened views and inflexible culture that Japan has, in terms of workplace kind of thing.
I'm talking about this because frankly, the mindset above applies to pretty much the entire societal facets within Japan. So yeah.
Nah, it's time is up
And you wonder why the old generation the young generation in many cultures fight against each other.
@@suzygirl1843 Not really. It's not like nobody has children. Sure, the economy might collapse, but then things will reset and regulate on their own. It's better be poor than remove culture of your country by allowing mass immigration.
How do we re-educate the elderly so that *they* demand change from politicians? Especially if they aren't online and physically isolated from younger adults like Shogo whose perspectives the elders either don't know about or don't care enough about, yet 🤔? Serious question!
@@Setsunako6587 Even if you could reach every single one, it is impossible. In any country.
The primary feature of elderly people, in any country, is that they are unwilling and unable to learn.
One thing I’ve noticed as a teacher is that a LOT of brilliant and talented Japanese people leave Japan and take with them their ideas, technology and thinking because it’s hard to be different in Japan.
I also think if they’d make it easier for foreign people to live here, it might help, but the duel citizenship issue is ALSO a problem for half children and mixed families.
Basically… I think many of the things that make Japan great are also kind of killing Japan. Competing on a global stage has to be a goal, and I don’t know if Japan is ready to do that.
very agree!!!
Cant be a conservative country alone. You have to be progressive and have a liberal view to. Especially on a global stage
Brain drain
Not just that but salaries are low and working conditions are usually poor. There are very few incentives for talented workers to work in Japan unless you have some kind of cultural interest.
Japan has the fewest number of citizens emigrating in the world...and a large percentage of those who do leave...return
I've been living in Shizuoka since July of 2016, and Shogo's videos always help me understand things my wife can't explain easily, when I have questions. Thank you so much for all these videos!
Man, it hurts to see the problems in japan getting worse. And as an outsider, it hurts more that we can’t do anything to help. Thank you for spreading the awareness tho.
I mean, we can't help cause they're digging their own grave by not accepting the help of immigrants XD
@@ouui Immigrants are only a temporary solution because their birth rate drops to that of the native population by the third generation. So you have to have a constant stream of immigration into your country, which is difficult to pull off in a country with a culture as strict as Japan.
@@ouui for real 💀
@@user-uf2df6zf5w 'with a culture as BASED as Japan'
Fixed it for you.
@@ouui migration is the kiss of death to established nations with own cultures.
By chance are you Filipino or Iranian or Indian in seeking migration to Japan?
Stay home!
I love how Shogo does not sugarcoat any fact, and explain things about Japan very simple and yet informative.
He's pandering to a Western audience. Grifting for a successful RUclips channel. Many have an appetite for "the dark side of Japan". The "other side" is saturated.
@@gordonbgraham Is this negative? What is this comment suppose to achieve? How do you recommend he should format his content?
I need this kind of person to educate people about my rotting country..
I need no sugarcoating, no sarcasm, no negativity..just calm logic analysis to wake us from the dream
@@ann07ps49 to reinforce falsifiable tropes
@@gordonbgraham "My name's Steve, from Missouri, and you guys are mischaracterizing Japan for profit because there's nothing negative to say about Japan."
Being young in Japan seems to be so much more difficult than in Norway, where I live. I've seen many of your videos, and I get the impression that the older generations are very ageist towards the younger generations for the sake of maintaining traditions and outdated social norms. If that's correct, what might happen when the younger generstions age up and realize these traditions have been used to keep them tied down and limit their lives? It's such a shame to see this amazing country have issues like this.
I feel sad watching the situation and the government doing everything but what it needs to to fix the situation. My partner and I (both Japanese) are getting married and want to have kids. However, it just doesn't seem financially possible to have even one and have enough money to retire. The latest election also made us realize we might eventually have to leave the country.
In my opinion, the older generation is cannibalizing the younger generation's future for themselves.
We get that I the UK too. The older generation have robbed us of so many things, we can't even escape to Europe anymore because they voted to pull us out of the EU.
Sounds like you have a Boomer problem too. Boomers (older people) in America and Europe ruined the future for younger generations too. They were able to afford houses and multiple kids on a single income. Now younger people get paid more, work multiple jobs and barely are able to afford rent.
Ahhh, yes... "Working" for the society to preserve...
It’s so sad, it’s happening everywhere really. :( Here in America it is similar, we don’t even get maternity leave. :c It just isn’t viable anymore. The elders here are also running the country into the ground with their greed and obsession with keeping the status quo. :c I sincerely hope Japan and the USA can change for the better. It saddens me to see that you may have to leave your country. :( It’s your home after all! I would love to stay here in the USA, but with how things are going I’ve also thought about leaving here for a more prosperous place.
Agreed, the old have also pulled masks on every child - they will forever be changed and traumatized to show face, have delayed speech, lower IQ and be afraid of others / low emotional intelligence. Insane how adults allow this to happen in schools
I live in Sweden and I can only say what helped us (me and my partner) to raise two kids:
* 40 hour work weeks. Working longer isn’t encouraged as you will be taxed more and there’s a legal limit on how many hours your are allowed to work. Plus working more hours doesn’t mean you work more effective, on the contrary you get less work done and the quality of your work will get lower and more mistakes will be made!
* Parental leave - you get 480 days payed leave to take care of your kid. You can use these day up to the kid’s 8th birthday. 390 of those days equals to the same amount as the when your on sick leave (80% of regular pay). The other 90 days are at a lower pay. People often mix those together, like taking 5 days of sick pay and 2 days of the low pay just to make them last longer.
* Monthly child benefit - the government pays a benefit for every kid up to it’s 16th birthday. Today that sum is around $118 or 1250kr per month and child. Not much but it helps poor families with money to clothes and stuff. I remember when my daughter was 14 yr we decided to let her manage these money herself. She then had to pay her mobile bill with it, buy clothes (of course not all clothes) etc. The first day she went on a shopping spree buying clothes. The next day she went back to the stores and got her money back! After that she started to save her money and she’s now a real Scrooge McDuck!
* Affordable kindergarten for all - all kids are required to get a place at a kindergarten near where they live. How much the parents pay is decided on their income. Even kids to unemployed parents gets to go so the parents either have time to look for a job or get an education. Kindergarten is more then just a storage for kids, they acts as preschools and have activities like visiting zoos, museums and such.
* School lunches - Swedish kids gets free lunches in school (and breakfast in kindergarten). No hassle for the parents to send food with their kids to school.
* Free medical and dental care for kids. Self explanatory I guess, plus free glasses if needed.
* Free schools - even University studies are free. But at the higher educations you need to buy your own books and pay for you own living, thou the government pays a monthly benefit and give extreme low rate student loans.
* Free travel for kids and students. If the kids needs to travel daily to there school then the government pays for that expense.
So I know many say we pay high taxes in Sweden (30% or more), this is what some of those taxes goes too!
* Payed sick leave for when the kids get sick - When the kids gets sick, they can
Yeah, and then you have to deal with the highest rape rates in Europe, and ethnic gangs setting off bombs in garbage bins.
How do you control that someone doesn't work longer hours than his contract states?
Still your fertility rate is below replacement and you continue to import people, no?
@@jameskamotho7513 Yes, and Sweden is dealing with high rates of rape, too.
@@jurisprudens2697 The company would be fined to the ground if the government found out.
To have babies you need to be
1) around
2) reasonably healthy
3) have enough money for the parents to feel secure
And one parent cannot work. Just look at the data. Fertility rate started falling when women started joining the workforce. Even in Scandinavian countries where people work very little compared to the Japanese, they are very healthy and are rich in nations. They have among the lowest fertility rates in the world, at around the same level of Japan.
@@secrets.295 Many countries, women are waiting until 30 to start trying to have kids. There was an expert who said that if women wait until 30, there is statistically only a 50% chance that she will succeed even if she starts trying.
@@secrets.295 College is part of the issue. Women going to college, come out and feel the need to get established in a career to pay off student loans and they get past the age of being able to succeed at having kids.
@@wishingb5859 What you describe is more "Student Loan" issue rather then college. Young people in USA are desitined to slave off x amounts of years, for a degree that might not give them anything. It's less eductation for women, as you try to put, it's more 'education in USA' issue.
@@cracmar03 Well it is a global issue. Much worse in Asia than the USA. The point it, women are more successful at getting married and having a family if they find their mate by their early twenties and globally, women who are trying to get advanced educations and careers often forfeit having families.
Japan has successful discourages women from wanting to have children and men from wanting real women 😬
The work culture that demands life and soul of employee is the killing blow.
Also keep outsider from helping them to solve their social problem. You can't isolate your self to success in the real world.
What do you mean by ''real'' women?
I'm a guy who a weeb and has a waifu but I still would want to have a relationship with a. real women hey even mother basement have a wife while still living his waifu I think it because Japanese are afraid of have real relationship and they been taught that to still form some guy I heard at a ted talk "men will be what we make them to be" and this apply to women too
@@InfiniteDeckhand not 2D
@@tomsuh1362 outsiders will become the majority if Japanese babies don’t start popping up left and right. But who wants to have babies when family related support is just lip service? They have programs and rules that are supposed to encourage more babies but no one pushes to make sure they are used and enforced. Just the same old dead-end company is life thinking. Maybe companies should get penalized for skipped vacations and paternity leave etc. Force them to respect work/life balance.
For how modern and technological Japan looks, I didn't know that this issue was that major. I hope Japan will be able to do something about this. I have always admired Japanese stuff like games and cards. Don't want them to just disappear one day...
they still need fax machines though
Japan has peaked, no more growth economically, this is what peak development looks like. Well of materially but spiritually drained. No time for love, for own self and for children.
The thing they invented could still be created by other people. There's nothing to be worry about.
@@skyisoceanblue the west is going the same way
@@wamnicho its going to happen everywhere. The current economic model of endless growth and consumption will eventually lead to this.
This is a problem in Australia too even with high levels of immigration. Many can't afford houses and the whole system is stacked against making children. Even one kid means your borrowing capacity goes down about 50k.
What d do you mean by borrowing capacity?
It's more likely due to corrupt politicians wanting to get rid of Australian citizens and replace them with immigrants that are only loyal to them, no matter the consequences.
Even in the US, where our ability to work as hard as the Japanese is optional, it's getting more difficult. I optionally put in 50 hours a week at work and 12 hours a week at home studying for my next certification/promotion for 4 years. In that time, I received important validation and promotions at work, but doing this with kids is extremely tiring. I can feel the fatigue and my progress at work has slowed significantly because I have 2 children now and there simply isn't time. We need to reduce our expectations for the workforce and realize time spent at work does not equal output. I fortunately work from home now, and I can produce my 10 hour days worth of work in 4 hours because that's how it has always been... it's just that in offices people work more slowly because they KNOW they're stuck there for 8-12 hours, so why not make 3 hours worth of work take that long?
this ^^
not getting paid overtime is absolutely criminal.
In my country if they want to have you stay overtime it's mandated to pay 150% of your hourly salary per hour.
Filipina here w/ a Japanese husband and both are working in the Philippines right now. Having our first child has come into our serious discussion and although we really wanna live in Japan and have our baby there, we are postponing it becaus of the economic downturns in the country and we see it's going to get worse. We are lucky to enjoy an upper middle class life in the Philippines because of our jobs plus I just inherited my parents' house and lot (the pros of being an only child, a rare thing in the Philippines). I don't like that the Philippine peso is weakening but both of us admit that USD is the currency on going big here in the Philippines.
Indian here dating a Filipina , I'm planning too settle down in Philippines Mindanao.
No insults here, but I have found there is almost never the right time to do something. Life is unpredictable.
My friend indonesian maid work malaysia and married japanese. they live together now indonesia because less cost than japan.
This is one of things I find crazy about immigration in Japan, even for someone that has heritage that was born in another country like the nippo-brazilians or americans that is not just really hard to get in Japan but also you can't get a nationality unless you live in Japan for decades. It's insane how much they don't want no sort of foreigners, even ethnically japanese.
It is said to live from up to 5 years to get a citizenship, it is in every country, mine requires 7 years
Although South Korea also has a low birthrate, it takes almost the opposite approach to Japan to encourage people having children. For example, they have almost free childcare (compared to cost of other places), new families get given money by the government to raise the child and the process of pregnancy, getting the lady and baby tested/screened etc. is very easy. Additionally, parents are given the time to take care of their children in the first few years.
And yet it's birthrate is even lower than Japan's, in fact it's the lowest in the world with 0.82
This kinda proves that having free child care won't fix the issue. Developed nations with individual choice and high education generally refuse to have so many children. It wouldn't be so bad if these collective actions aren't effectively dooming that country and society in the future. Don't have enough kids, then you can't support the next batch of elderly.
@@stephenjenkins7971 I'll probably be dead before that becomes an issue at least.
@@kyokanekocompilations4505 Maybe. But the next generation will be cursing yours even more than Millennials cursed the Boomers.
@@stephenjenkins7971 ah, the endless cycle of cursing. lmfao
Shogo and Harumi are doing their part with their wonderful family! I hope the laws and customs will adapt to encourage young people to form families and have children. They are life’s greatest blessing ❤️
"They are life’s greatest blessing" To you! To me they are a curse. I cannot stand children, and to be honest I think pulling kids into this overpopulated world jsut for your own entertainment is kinda selfish. It's not in the kid's benefit to be born.
@@NiekNooijens the world is not overpopulated
I can see a giant switch to modernisation in Japan coming in the next few decades hopefully while keeping important aspects of Japanese history and culture alive
My first boss was an auditor in Japan. He said even back in the 90s, universities started to close due to lack of students. So this isn't really "rapid." And back then instead of coming up with real solutions the general response is "sho ga nai." 30 years later here we are.
Those three words sum up all of Japanese culture.
May I ask what those three words mean exactly?
@@cjthebeesknees “it cannot be helped” or “nothing can be done about it”
basically an attitude of giving up when encountering a difficult problem.
@@anahitaazadeh3449 That's always Japanese response when they are hopeless -_-
It's incredibly sad. I have never had nor wanted children, but I imagine many young Japanese people would love to have a family and see them grow, but can't because of economic pressures - other pressures too, but rooted in money. And it's true that if I were now a young Japanese woman I would be VERY reluctant to marry and give up work to look after a house and family, with an absent partner unavailable to build a relationship with his kids - let alone knowing that if we split up he may avoid payment, even if we are married. That would be a big fat NO from me.
Having children at all needs to be made easier, children that are born out of wedlock need to be recognised and supported, and raising a child needs to be given more support. Having and raising children needs to become not even more attractive, just more possible - even things like the cost of child education needs to be addressed!
How you manage that in a shrinking economy is down to politicians and economists, but ... here's an idea! Tax the rich. Japan, like everywhere else, must have a super-class of very wealthy families who are actually currently able to avid many social responsibilities including paying a reasonable proportion of their income in tax. Politicians are currently very dependent on them for campaign funding, so I suppose they have not much motivated to fix this.
Hard to see a way forward, but there are changes that could be made which might cost almost nothing. Allowing dual nationality, recognising illegitimate children and allowing immigration for long term residency and ... Japanese naturalisation!
Eventually things will get so bad that even the most reluctant will be eager for changes. But ... delay will make it all harder, and economic suffering harder. Like I said, sad.
And this is the work culture they are trying to advertise to Africa? Nah, women should stay in the home
If you have that attitude about childern, you can't be anything but a hypocrite and virtue-signaler in saying that this is all "incredibly sad." It's selfishness like that which kills nations.
@@ifyouloveChristyouwillobeyhim Based
And they're not paid, because they work too much. Supply and demand law. The more one person does, the less people you need to hire. The lower wages you can give, because competition is higher.
There is no reason why in Japan, with their level of advancement, people wouldn't work 8, or even just 6 hours a day, and have top 10 salaries in the world.
They would need to ditch some nonsensical procedures though. For example in this video about work of a Japanese courier, the courier had to do car inspection every time they came back it. It's so pointless it's absurd and a complete waste of time. An inspection once a week is more than enough. There must be thousands examples of such self-sabotage by Japanese companies.
Think my country has an opposite issue where after divorce a former wife may be legally entitled to proportionately more alimony from her former husband e.g. even if she earns more, & the husband might face more risk of being bankrupted (with all its legal ramifications); the gov't will then at most send him for financial counselling I remember. Our minister also called alimony a "lifelong commitment" I remember & it has been reported to possibly make it more difficult for the husband to convince any future wife that he's moved on from his former wife, as he may still be legally obliged to pay alimony to the latter (until she dies or finds a new husband I think)
With regards to health, there is one practice that I think greatly contributes to it: the annual health check at work, school, and local communities (健康診断). This is based on preventative medicine, which means diseases tend to be caught earlier and are more easily treatable.
The optimistic part of me thinks that all countries will face this conundrum eventually, and that Japan might have a head start figuring out how to deal with it.
In the U.S., it just seems like older generations keep hoarding/squandering all of the wealth, forcing younger generations to work harder, live more frugally, have fewer children, and have those children later in life. The population continues to grow due to immigration, though.
US birth rates has remained consistent, though. At least until like 2022 or so.
@@stephenjenkins7971
Yeah, I remember people saying; "There will be a baby boom after the lock downs" and now are struggling to figure out why it didn't happen.
@@madisonatteberry9720 I remember that too, and just thinking, “anyone who thought this was going to lead to a baby boom is completely out of touch with how this is affecting people.” This pandemic showed the stark inequality this country faces, and how financially insecure a huge proportion of Americans are. It led to a baby bust, and it’s easy to see the health/financial reasons why.
Nanny States are expensive for the working class to bankroll. More social services= higher taxes= more hours working to just pay taxes before pocketing $1
On average you work 155 days per year just to pay tax in the USA.
Yea Stephen Jenkins
That is why the Fed Gov knocked down the abortion laws so White People don’t get reduced too much…
"If the population is declining, why don't you have more children?"
Were people seriously asking that? I'm inclined to think they were trolling, since it's common sense that raising a kid is a huge, expensive responsibility. Certainly not something you can just do on a whim unless you're friggin' rich.
Historically, even the very poor could and did have large families. It isn't a matter of money, or at least, it isn't JUST a matter of money.
@@markbrooks8623 In a pre -industrial society, children are an economic benefit. It's another set of hands in the field or the shop or the household, and even children too young to do a full day's work can mind their younger siblings for a bit and free up their mother for adult labour. But in an industrial society, most of those jobs are automated, industrialized, or the province of a poorly-paid underclass. Industrial jobs, even "blue-collar" ones require a fairly high level of literacy and education to perform, so children must be supported for years by their parents until they are sufficiently educated, with little help from the state or larger community.
@@digitaljanus you're just spouting simplistic stuff. USA spends multiple times more money on a per student basis than ANY OTHER country and yet our student performance is crashing. If not for foreign enrollment in graduate level science and engineering US would become 3rd world in a generation. Hard to believe just 50 years ago US schools produced enough engineers and scientists to propel NASA to the moon!
Huge percentages of non-english speakers flood our grade schools and teachers unions and school admins keep practices in effect that delay and hinder English proficiency BUT guarantee jobs to ESL (English as Second Language) instructors. Some instructors are even being recruited from overseas. Wth?
This is crazy.......and will not end well.
@@willbass2869 There is an idea... Instead of giving the money punctuality how about changing the system and get a free or very affordable education?
Believe me it would solve a lot of problems
@@zohramartini9425
What do you mean
The US already has free K-12 education(why do you think it has the largest spending per student?), which is the problem
Fantastic video. Very accurate and insightful.
I didn't knew that Japan is having so many problems... All of the documents in tv and books in my country, are not showing that. They always say "Japan is a Rich country", "Japan is the most technologically advanced country"... etc Only one program showed a small percent of that what You have said - the thing about rural cities. I've never been in Japan, but hearing this for some reason is starting to get me cry. I really really like japanese culture...
A lot of this is exaggeration. People look at the worst examples in Tokyo or Osaka and portray it as the whole country. But it's a different ball game out here in the Tokyo exurbs. I see lots of young families here, and when It's time to leave work, people go home..
I can't help but feel sorry for the Japanese people dealing with this workaholic problem every single day.
I never could grasp the concept that it is commonplace to go out drinking with your boss and coworkers, where abstaining or going home instead marks you as a bad employee. There are people who don't like drinking and probably need to spend more time at home.
Excuses for the when the boss tries to grab you inappropriately whether you're a woman or even a man L
That is a big problem in Japan. A Japanese woman gets married and is still alone.
I've worked for several Japanese organizations and have never felt pressured to go out drinking after work.
Depends on the company culture. Worked for two Japanese companies in my younger days. One did not mind me just going home afterwork. The other has a corporate culture that you need to drink with your boss and colleagues on a regular basis.
Thank you for keeping us up to date with Japan, even though I may never be able to live there, it feels as if I'm getting local updates of the situation and that's kinda a comforting thought.
Japan will never get rid of this problem until it realized that it should not allow its citizens to be exposed to a work culture that is not even suitable for robots!
I'm a bit confused. The population decline in a national view comes up a lot, but the overpopulation of the cities is also a discussion too, being pointed at as the problem with stuffed trains, small apartments and rising real estate costs in the city. So shouldn't the discussion about population decline get more specific about increasing populations in rural or suburban areas, where there's room, time and extra money for children and families?
the overpopulation in cities probably comes from the fact that people are moving away from rural areas
Idk maybe rural but suburban areas aren't that great for raising children. Also most cities outside of Asia are not really dense so there is enough room for raising kids.
But where would all the people living in rural areas work to support their families, even if cost of living is less expensive in those areas? People are in urban areas because that's where the jobs are and because the society has become less agrarian. Of course, these days, a lot of jobs could be done virtually, but I don't think Japanese business leaders have accepted this. There seems to be a desire to see people in an office working insane hours each day, instead of being able to self-pace at home.
@@skejeton Cities has better works than rural areas
Definitely informative video,and it truly hit me with concerns.... I've always had a connection with Japanese culture,and japan in general. I hope things will get resolved on those topics in the near future, hopefully i will visit there... Much loves and GREAT blessing to JAPAN 🇯🇵
Labor issues are often felt when I go to Tokyo. I am a Japanese who does not live in Tokyo, but when I go to Tokyo I feel as if they are robots. It is often perceived as Japanese culture, but even as a Japanese myself, I feel this tendency is strong in Tokyo. The reason for this is probably due to the concentration of people in Tokyo. Because of the large number of people, people have to be uniform in order to avoid chaos and maintain order. By easing the concentration of people in Tokyo and dispersing them to the regions, cultural things may change.
It's peculiar that it's also the same here in Manila, capital of the Philipines. People have a tendency to go to the Capital fo find better opportunities and the city would often end up getting crowded.
I think japanese companies should do alot family fríendly changes.......like lower work hours but increased income. Financial stability and stable family life would increase the likelyhood of having children. The second aspect is when children never see how a functional relationship is established because one parent is always away, come home late or only come for sleeping.....why should they try for it. In some cases you can call it that is a single mother/father were the other parent occiasonally crash in there for sleeping. And the kids seeing how one parent struggle to do it all alone, which made having children later even less attractive.
The other problem isnt just the companies/employer but the education system.....children were exposed high social pressure early on. So many came to the conclusion why should i expose my potential kids to it too, i wasnt happy with it and why should they suffer. In certain way you can also say individual happiness can be shared with friends and family, but overstressed and unhappiness would only bring misery to your beloved ones.
I think for the future japan need radical changes..... why not doing the the same scales of reforms like hte one 200 years ago. Picking the best things in the world and combining it together. Like social experiments/advancement from finland, better work/life balance, affordable living, promote new industries, better work laws, better bureacracy.....in short term japan need also immigration to counter the labor shortage. But these are unpopular reforms for the elder part of japans population, so it would only discussed if the situation is very dire.
The work culture in Japan is SO bad that your essentially being treated like a machine and I really hope that eventually something is done about it before it’s too late.
I was on a date with a girl yesterday and she said she stays in the office until after 10pm basically every day...
@@shugyosha7924 I felt real bad for her to be honest.
Feels like this wouldn’t be a problem if they saw their immigrants as Japanese. 2nd, 3rd even 4th generation children of immigrants aren’t considered “Japanese” … I’ve friends of Brazilian, Filipino, and British descent who even though their parents were born and raised in Japan, still aren’t seen as Japanese. Also, Japan is one of the few countries that still have orphanages and so much stigma is associated with any kind of disability that many prefer to not have an “imperfect” child
And I don’t blame young people not wanting to have kids, especially women. They saw their mothers be abused, be cheated on and then left with nothing. Most of these people also saw only one parent having to do everything because of the long hours of work.
Giving women economic rights without appropriate social rights means individual women are much better off childless. If people want us to reproduce so badly, they need to help pay for it and ensure we do not end up in desperate situations.
We need to tear down the entire patriarchy, not just the part that prevented us from contributing to corporate bottom lines.
@@ladyeowyn42 thank you! I was so disappointed this was not addressed in the video, yet some AI bullcrap was.
@@thecod2345 The original commenter described 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation immigrants being treated differently. My grandfather immigrated from Greece. I can't speak too much about my mother (though she hasn't really said anything that gave me the impression she was treated differently, she was born in the US), but I haven't been treated differently for being of Greek descent. Unfortunately, that comes with a lot of assimilation.
living on their soil doesn't make you Japanese, it's racial/biological. Half my family still lives in Germany, non-ethnic Germans are called auslanders even if they were there since after WWII especially if you are not white
But they are not Japanese. A mouse born and raised in a stall is not a horse. In Poland which is my country, only Polish people are Polish... no one looks at a foreign tourist or foreign student and says "look a Polish person!" since they know only white Slavic people with Polish ancestry are Polish. If anyone raised anywhere was considered the same as the people who lived there for thousands of years, then ethnicity and culture would not exist.
Anyone interested in the problems faced by Japan directly caused by a government that consistently puts itself above it's people should read the manga Akumetsu. I know of no other manga quite like it. The artist-writer has a really strong stance on corruption and mismanagement and - supernatural/action elements aside - lays out for the reader things I had no idea were happening (and I've here lived in Japan for 20 years). If you're a manga fan, check it out.
Thank you!
I live in the Netherlands. We offset de low birthdate with high levels of immigration. That evens out the economic problems, but it has it own set of problems with in the society en large.
Enjoy your cultural enrichment 😂😂😂
The Netherlands with a smaller population would be preferable to the Netherlands+ hoards from the third world. It is too densely populated as it stands. Being slaves to the idea of constant economic growth will be the ultimate death of the Netherlands.
I’m Canadian working in Japan for over 10 years now. Salaries are very low. I have never received a salary increase in over 10 years. I receive no bonus, no benefits, am forced to work all National Holidays, and working conditions are extremely severe. I often complain, but am severely reprimanded for it. The Japanese work very, very hard and never, ever complain about very high demands for very little in return. My salary as an English teacher is $18K. Can’t wait to return to Canada.
Bill why stay ? How can you afford it ?
@@andrewruddy962 Hi Andrew. The only way I can afford it is by living an extremely frugal lifestyle. I do all my own cooking and never spend an extra dollar on anything I don’t have to. I keep my cost of living to a minimum. Currently, I’m renovating my house in preparation to sell. Then I just need to wait for a buyer. I was able to purchase an old, traditional Japanese house on a large piece of property next to a forest. The countryside is lovely here, but extremely hot and humid in summer. The biggest downside to Japan is the social isolation. I’ve got lots of work to get done in preparation for my return to Canada. Then a lot of work ahead of me upon my arrival back home to get a home base established and find new employment.
I hope you can return soon! Don’t waste more time if you aren’t enjoying life. My best whishes!
@@DoritoBot9000 Hello. Thank you for your thoughtful, kind message. I usually do not get messages like yours. You are right. If I am not enjoying life, it is better to leave. I live in a big, comfortable, Japanese-style home and grow a lot of my own fruit and vegetables on my large property. My place is very private and has a beautiful view of the mountains. It is not so much that life is terrible here, it is just that I want more that I know Japan society can never provide. I want thought-provoking conversation with like-minded people and to do social activities with people I enjoy spending time with. These are just 2 simple examples. Neither of these will ever happen here in the countryside, no matter how long I live here. My goal is to return to Canada.
You don't deserve this kind of treatment, please do return to Canada
As an expert in AI, every time I hear people talking about "introducing AI into the workforce", I cringe a little. For me, it is like saying "introducing *computers* into the workforce".
First, this technology is already being used right now in every vending machine (which are, technically, also a robot system) and Point of Sale... it is just applied on the server side to have a bigger amount of data to process and learn from. If you expect it too look like an humanoid robot... sorry, but that is too costly and inefficient.
And second, even if some results look like magic, AI is just a tool and, thus, require human beings that know how it works to properly operate it. Yet, Japan is not creating enough data scientists, nor placing them in the right places in the company structures for them to have any real impact.
Am a computer scientist myself, I've even heard some fools in these comments that really think that AI will take care of us and even run society like we humans and that's the reason for not wanting to reproduce. I tell them even if that were true, AI would still need human intervention, in fact every technology does, and if not enough scientists were born, then who will create or maintain AI in the future. One guy actually said that the AI will be so intelligent that it will repair itself or even create other robots
I live in Japan and I've worked many jobs in the past few years thanks to COVID. Knowing how many places are run, even "introducing computers into the workforce" would be useful. Not enough hardware or knowledge. One place had a single computer for about 20 staff.
I’m not sure you know much about the Japanese work environment, and the video talks about it a bit, but basically many companies are run by old people and there’s a real lack of incorporating modern technology into the workplace/workforce.
This is an interesting argument. I recently stayed at a rather budget hotel in Shanghai, I was shocked to see that one of the "employees" was an AI robot (tin can shaped, had a voice to ask people to politely move, could take elevators, etc.) used to do some light cleaning and monitoring, perhaps some other things, I wasn't entirely too sure of all of its functions.
Technology allows fewer people to produce more of something so a declining population may be ok.
This was informative and terrifying. The balance between youth and experience is an important one to maintain.
A Vietnamese Prince, titled Prince Hung Dao of Tran Dynasty, had left with all of us a lesson that not all Japanese ever listened:
"Easing the burden of the people is the firm foundation, and also a must to preserve a nation!"
I don't think any nation has ever followed that advice, unfortunately.
You sir are such a cultured man! Im so proud that not just the Viet people know of the great king! Thank you.
@@vunguyenlong5738 Actually, a Prince to be sure. Tran Hung Dao was kinda equivalent to the European Prince (by title) rather than King.
Meanwhile I remember my country's PM once said something like: "Work life balance? But our immigrants from less developed countries aren't so demanding." Which I fear might add new meaning to the phrase "race to the bottom"
yep, one of 4 immortals of vietnamese, his word is truly wise compare to his time
It's a tragedy that Japan is declining. It will be a terrible loss to the world. I think most of the problem was that the Japanese people work too much long hours. Companies in Japan should encourage marriages and providing help for children.
Isn't this Socialism?
@@suzygirl1843 You can have a democracy and still have policies considered "socialist" in order to help people have a better life. There should be a balance, a country doesn't turn communist with a few well thought ideas to help people, instead of milking them dry. Nordic countries have policies like that and they're some of the best to live in.
Its not tragedy, its actually a bless. Why do you think avg human have to work 30+ years just to buy a house? There is too many people, that's why. When half of population will finally pass, housing will become affordable and people will be able to have family.
@@blaud4020 this is nonsense, unless you consider a very small island or a microstate with extremely limited territory the cost of houses depends on completely different factors
@@Nisselak Not exactly. If owners can't find buyers for houses, they will decrease the prices.
You can see it even in Japan. In Tokyo a flat the size of a shoe is extremely expensive, while in some rural areas you can rent a mansion for less.
Supply and demand is everything.
Hey there, viewers of this informative video.
As a person from another country living in Japan now, its obvious that there are many elderly people in Japan right now.
I live in North Western Kanto, which is the Tokyo region for those that don't know.
Its a small-ish town, with a lot of old buildings. Heck, my building is over 30 years old.
But as I walk the streets and go around the town... Yes, I see a BUTT TON of eldery Japanese.
You might think that it's because I am not in a major town. Well that's the thing. Its here where you can truly see that the population is aged and aging.
All the young people in the big cities? They don't make up the large amount of elderly people in the outlining cities and beyond.
As a teacher, I see 300+ students per day. But maybe that's not enough? I think the schools would be much more packed if the birth rate was up. Instead, I walk down the street and see a plethora of older people, and of course, it jumps from older people to students.
I would like to buy some land here, have a house, and live here in Japan for the rest of my life. But without dual citizenship, I am not considered as a Japanese citizen. I can just hope to find someone nice to settle down with, and maybe it can become something more. But that is easier said than done, especially with Covid.
So yeah. This video is spot on. And its a DAMNED shame.
I worked as an ALT for a year, so I saw firsthand the long hours that Japanese teachers work. If most Japanese workplaces are similar then I don't know how anyone even has time to have their own kids...
When I was in college, I read that Japan is, in land area, about the size of the State of Montana in the USA. Japan had, it was reported, about half the population of the entire USA. It was like half of all Americans living in an area the size of Montana. Add to that, only 1/7 of Japan's soil is arable (capable of growing crops) and most of that is under Tokyo. I was also led to believe that Japan produced no petroleum to fuel its economy and industry; all their oil had to be imported. At that time, Japan had a thriving economy that was growing each year (this was a long time ago, in the early 1970s). I can't believe everything I read, but at the time, it made sense. At least that is what was reported in books and other publications. Sorry my memory is so bad I can't recall the sources.
Right now is the easiest time in all of Japanese history to have children. Just a few reasons:
-low infant mortality
-better nutrition
-access to doctors,meds,
-financial incentives
-better work life balance than in the past
-greater gender equality than ever before
-cheaper now than ever in history
The same is true in the developed world. The reality is that there is literal subsidization for the costs of raising children in the developed world, even in the USA.
I don't know how this channel ended up in my recommendations but I appreciate the calm, informative presentation. It's wild to think that in the near future, an entire generation will die off in Japan and the burden of crafting the future will fall squarely on the shoulders of multiple generations that have been struggling under the weight of decisions made a long time ago. I hope the Japanese people evolve and adapt their ideas about life and culture sufficiently to thrive in the modern era. It's a fascinating, beautiful place with many worldwide contributions to science, art, literature, and culture at large.
It will need a acceptance of different ways of living. I am from a central European country but living in Trinidad and Tobago where it is very normal to have more than one child not being married and perfectly integrated in the workplace. It is normal to pick up children from school and bring them to work. I working in a Hospital and it is quite normal to have several children in the Lunch Room doing school work in the afternoon. Father's also unmarried once will get locked up if they don't provide for their children. Mother's, and children are not punished for being unmarried, it is the norm!
I don't say it is ideal but I am still impressed how Caribbean mother's are able to have children and still have a decent work!
JM, you are fortunate to live in a progressive country. Three cheers for your country ' Trinidad and Tobago.
I understand the shortage of labor and consumers and all, but 100 Mil + is still incredibly populated. The problem is with the previous generation still in power while holding dear to all the outdated methods/mindsets
shogo always tells us to speed up the videos, but his measured and deliberate manner of speaking is what makes it!
I’ll be eligible for citizenship next year, but since Japan will never accept me for my skin color as someone who lives and belongs here, I’d never give up my own citizenship for Japanese. If there were duel citizenship I’d sign up right away.
But at the same time, my Japanese wife and I have had many conversations about whether or not to have kids that we would never see do to work hours. If we did we would have a long hard look at whether or not to leave. So instead of increasing population by 1, we would have to bring it down by 3
Dual citizenship is usually only ever offered to children born in their contires never immigrants
Is it so easy to become a citizen of Japan, just because you're married to a Japanese person and have lived in Japan for x years? I was under the impression that it was virtually impossible for a foreigner to become a Japanese citizen.
Spare your children the trials of growing up in a society where they will be 2nd class citizens through no fault of thier own.
In Serbia and the Balkan countries, we have a similar situation where people over the age of 45 stay to live in the Balkans, and young people go to live and work in Germany.
And the birth rate is always in the negative, so From 2011 to 2022 Serbia lost 1 million people who moved away or died, and the saddest part is that Serbia has 6 million people.
I'm 15 years old and since 2016 I've witnessed how one-third of the people I regularly see on the streets goes to live in Germany
They could make it less expensive to have a kid for starters. The cost of giving birth and raising a child in Japan is insane.
You go buy real estate in Japan and lower the rent if you want .
@@scintillam_dei why don't you go do that if it's so easy?
Not true. Giving birth is almost free.
They should just embrace communism. So the state will take care of the child. Of course, the parents will pay 1000% taxes in lieu of that.
And no, that was not a typo. I wrote 1000% taxes.
There are developed countries out there with worse child care and cost of living, so you're got to take things into context.
The Japanese government should really make the country more work friendly and have flexibility hours if they expect people to have more kids
man u were extremely patient in explaining the whole picture - thank you!!!
It’s not just work culture, it’s also the crazy education system where children NEVER get to be children.
I often see mums, dads & their little child walking to a kindergarten entry interview, dressed in their finest cloths. This leads to doing the same for elementary & high school, then a prestigious university. Plus after regular school you need to go to Juku schools till 9:00 at night. Summer “vacation” is only 6 weeks and you’re assigned more homework than if you were normally attending school.
Most graduate Universities for the pride of working 14 to 16 hour days.
There’s NOT enough day care centers here in Tokyo and rural areas have even less.
Most kids don’t even begin to date until university age and even that is usually done in very organized unnatural ways.
Lastly, I can say from experience that raising a child here is far more expensive than the states.
Though I do my best to teach my son to take a different path, I see he’s being indoctrinated to follow others.
It’s not at all surprising, that very few want to bring a new born into this society
I think something worth addressing is the lack of benefits available to people who want to have children but who are low-income. For example, in the US there is the WIC program to help pay for Women, Infants, and Children. There are also SNAP benefits to offset food costs for low-income families and individuals. There is not similar support like this to couples who are pregnant, although there is some financial support from the government for single mothers.
If you don’t have a very solid job with maternity/paternity benefits or if you are low income, it is difficult to have enough support to have kids. I think this is classist and works against the well-being of the greater society. Luckily, health insurance is free or subsidized for children and some municipalities also have free or subsidized childcare for low-income families.
But the lack of support for a generation of would-be parents who have been cheated of stable jobs due to structural problems is a huge issue. Especially when so many of these families want kids or would make excellent parents.
We are all responsible for the next generation, you shouldn’t have to be rich to be able to raise your children with dignity.
From France: we have a lot of daycare and nanies and financial support for people who have the lowest income. Paid maternity leave, paid paternity leave, laws against discrimination about pregnancy, work 35 hours a week and 5 weeks of vacation each year, and much more... our birth rate is declining a little bit because of eco anxiety. If you look at our news, you can see french people demonstrating .the government thinks it's necessary for the workers to stay at work until they are 64. Now it's 62. Young people will struggle to find work and to raise child's if the law passes... France is in a better situation because society and laws are most softer ...
Shogo-san, just want to take a moment to appreciate the work that you and your team do to share these things for your audience to learn about Japan and the current societal climate. Your level-headed manner of explaining things and being objective opened my eyes and made me understand deeper what really is happening
I love japan too much to see it fade away like this, i would love to try and help or give advice or recommendations, but honestly, change must come from japanese society, and the japanese government, first. If they have no willingess to adapt, this situation will keep snowballing out of control.
Everyone says that Japan has a low birth rate (1.34) because they work too hard. My question is, do Italians work even harder (birth rate 1.24)?
I can always count on a level headed and nuanced video from you, Shogo. While this can be a panicking subject, this discussion desperately needs a level headed but persistent approach. And like many others have already said, this is one aspect of Japanese health that negatively reflects from the toxic work culture that desperately needs changing. Japan really needs to take a step back and reassess what it wishes to prioritize, as this mix of Western capitalism with Japanese social traditions has created serious pressure on the human environment and mental and physical health.
Shogo, you should make a video about how the large elder population shape government policy and how it can stifle growth due to being overly conservative. I think that unless the majority of the voting block changes, there will be no governmental incentive for change.
I have no idea how you're doing it Shoko, but you're getting SO MANY impressions with this video.
I think the main problem is the insane work culture that Japanese companies imposes. If people are too tired from working, they won't have time to build a proper family. This ultimately becomes a downward spiral where the population is declining, increasing the burden of the current workforce, making them even more stressed and not able to have children/build their own family.
The burden is also worsened by the increasing number of elderly people who needs social security to support them, as you have said in the video. If Japan doesn't have sufficient funds, then they may have to borrow more money, increasing the already balloning national debt.