Why Japan's Birthrate is Still Declining (ep.2)
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- Опубликовано: 10 июл 2024
- Thank you so much if you have watched the first episode.
In the second episode, we go deeper into one of the most common reasons for giving up on having kids among young Japanese today.
Sometimes, people have to give up on having kids for various reasons, such as disability, poverty, age, infertility, etc. But what about in Japan? What kinds of reasons are getting common?
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• Why Japan's Women Hesi...
■Episode5:
• Japan's Virginity Pand...
■Episode4:
• Japan's Rise of Unmarr...
■Episode3:
• How Japan's Marriage H...
■Episode1:
• Why Japan's Birthrate ...
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11:35s: I don't think we can
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■YOUNG CARERS ASSOCIATION
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■Yukiko Okimura
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■Rie Takaoka
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■Emi
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■Yuka
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■Daniel
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■Nana Iwamoto
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■Chapters:
00:00 The context
01:22 The issue
04:13 Why?
08:13 Not enough support
10:48 Nothing changes?
14:07 Lack of female participation
15:32 The final thoughts
#JapanBirthrateProblem
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It’s interesting. Half the time Japanese parents were so busy working they barely raised their children but expect them to completely give up their futures for parents they barely know.
Sad all round
Oof, that hit hard. Don't plan on taking care of my parents
@@bp3177 Be honest and upfront with your parents. Go tell them this, so that they wont be dissapointed and let down later.
Many children in the West do it for their parents because of inheritance, often in the (probably massively valued) family home. Japan is different in that many parents post-bubble have only a single child, and aging, urbanization and depopulation are causing home values to plunge in most areas, in some rare cases putting those sole children into debt because both the land and the house are worthless, and it takes money to demolish the house to stop it being a crumbling eyesore.
Most modern Asian families fail to understand that a single child cannot possibly support both aging parents. They must have more children but it turns into a catch-22 - you can't afford to have more children if taking care of your parents cost too much time and effort.
Asian parents in a nutshell. Mostly bunch of narcissists.
But now it's a generation lacking kids. What are they going to do then? Me I have no qualms taking care of my dad and I'm actively putting myself into physical fitness so I don't have to worry about not being able to work when I'm old since I don't want kids because it's stupid to risk marriage in a society with alimony and child support in a court system historically biased against men
I have actually seen this happen in the U.S. too. I've also seen people shamed for putting people in nursing care. However, when someone needs 24 hour care for their own protection as my grandfather did, there isn't really another way. My grandfather was strong enough to throw a woman against a wall, even though his mind was gone (which he did, and ran out into a night that was -2F/-18C.) He needed healthy male care givers round the clock.
Usually I find its older people doing the shaming. The fact of the matter is, the economy isn't the same that used to be and because of that, everyone has to work to make ends meet and a household. Very few are able to live off of one income, specially if they have children. Some people get so bad that they might end up setting the house ablaze or mistaking somebody as an intruder. I had great-grandparents and both ended up in mental decline. The one ended up reliving moments from world war, the other would go turn the fire on under something on the stove and then forget about it completely. She wouldn't even be aware of the burning smell or anything. A situation like that requires you to childproof the house from an adult-sized child, and have an eye on them 24/7. It just isn't realistic.
Jjjipo
@@Agent_Ice0 It isn't realistic yet some governments actually penalize you for walking out on them. My father became very ill during his 70s and he required 24/7 care because he could barely walk. As his illness progressed during the next couple of years, the amount of time invested and stress just skyrocketed to unsustainable levels for me. I took care of him out of my own volition and even now I have to admit that when he eventually passed away, more than sad, i felt relieved that he was now free of his suffering, and I was finally free of that burden.
I got burnt out so bad I just tuned out of the idea of ever having children of my own because the experience was nothing short of traumatic and that I'd be damned before I allowed myself to become a burden to others.
In the US (and western civilization), we have a facist feminist movement that is hell bent on purging and punishing good men from being good men, which in turn prevents us from even dealing with women. That, and they protect a court system that is made to prevent marriages from not only from happening, but also lasting a long time.
What? And deprive all the strong and independent females the right to nonsexist employment? ( i mean just because they run like cheap socks at the mear sight of actual WORK...)
As someone who works for a Japanese nursery company, I think you should take a deeper dive into the state of childcare, especially early child care. It is not uncommon for infant and toddler classes to be overcrowded with only 2-3, maybe 4, overworked teachers to watch them. Childcare workers and teachers are increasing in demand bc we are quitting by the dozens due to the sheer level of overwork and stress. Stress that leads to many careless mistakes that can cost our children their lives. Every other month there is a tragic story of negligence in a Japanese nursery, but nothing changes to make our jobs easier and the pay is laughably low. It is no wonder the birth rate is declining when in cities like Tokyo you pay so much money for your child to be borderline neglected by people who are overworked and underpaid. I wouldn’t want to have kids in Japan either; the childcare system here is painfully outdated with even the “good” private preschools that advertise western approaches ditching them in order to make a profit.
Yeah, same in germany here. Sad but true.
Remember the child who fell from their apartment in Hong Kong? Her nanny forgot her in the elevator. The nanny didn't bother to press the elevator button outside to open the door. It took more than 30 seconds before the elevator went up after the kid was stuck inside.
In my first daycare job, I also forgot a kid when I called them in for the afternoon snack after playtime outside. I only realised the kid was missing when everyone was sitting down. I checked outside the door and their she was standing quietly and looking miserable. I apologised and reported it to both parent and our supervisor. An inspector or staff from Children's Services came the next day. Thankfully, my supervisor knew that I was rushing to get everyone inside that's why I forgot the child. I feel bad about it so, it's a reminder to keep being aware of children.
Another incident was the horrible winter where a two year old child walked out of his apartment and got outside in the winter storm. The elevator camera showed him riding it downstairs.
The adults were sleeping when this happened around 7 am. The neighbors who became aware of the missing child alert said her worst fear was realized when she saw the police around her property. The child had frozen in her backyard crouched. The adults must have also been tired. If they don't get enough rest, they can neglect children and something like this can happen.
Last example was the fire in an apartment in New York. The single mom left for a moment. Her child who likes to play with the stove started a fire. They got out since they lived in the first floor. Others didn't including children who lived in the upper floors. Being a parent is no joke. I don't have that confidence to have children galore and fulfill my responsibilities properly that's why I'd rather not bring children in to let them suffer.
Hire a lot of old women who were good parents when they were young from around the World. The government should pay for it for couples with 2 or more children.
they shouldnt be in childcare, they have moms that should be taking care of them, thats the issue
Yummynomnom1233 Your assuming the mothers have a choice, these days its almost the norm for both parents to have to work to make ends meet. Even in the old days both parents had to work in poor families, both my grandparents had to work full time.
if the government is run by the elderly they should build housings with caregivers for the elderly to not burden the young population
? no....
But what if there is limited caregivers since there are more elderly than young people?
@@chokabitch9342😊😊😊😊😊0😊😊😊0 op😅😮😮😅😮😅😮 2:14
Yes but you forget those elderly government people are wealthy SOB's who hire young people to take care of them.
why do adults rule the world?
Adults " kids are dumb"
Kids " what the F@#K man"
Adults " Old folks are frail"
Old man " I can take you easy sonny"
The alliance of 18 - 70 year olds:
Who has the money? We do
Who runs society? We do
Who has the guns? We do
Thank you for interviewing us Nobita san!!😊 There are many issues in Japan, but the society is changing. As Nobita san said, I'm hoping things will get better in the future.🙏
Thank you for bringing up these issues on RUclips!
Things will get better, as a rich nation you can manage while poorer nations would collapse and stop existing.
@@Tethloach1 you can blame Japan's one child policy
@@mehchocolate1257that's China not Japan. Japan allowed one to two children back in 2009.
@@mgsxmike China is the covid capital of the world
@@mgsxmikeGod, I hope Japan doesn't become evil like how China or North Korea did.
I don't want Japan to get extinct, I want Japan to get salvaged (especially their population and economy).
I lost my twenties to be a career for my mum, there was an expectation to look after her by my extended family and dad. It was frowned upon to complain about the struggles and ask for outside help. My friends were like put yourself first, come out and I never got any support even when `I tried to talk. People who are not in your situation cannot understand and cannot -rovide the necessary support.
I am a hospice caregiver to my grandma in rural USA. I have to be with her 24/7 because she is bed ridden from a stroke and stomach cancer. I'm very blessed that she is mentally functional for the most part. I also took care of my mother when she had/survived breast cancer.
From my point of view, it is important for caregivers to receive more support than we get currently because we can provide a level of care that you will never get in a government funded nursing home. I'm blessed that our hospice staff are so helpful, but having some sort of monetary support for those of us who are giving up our careers, time, and energy is important as well. Especially since this is often a 2+ person job for many conditions.
This video brings up the cases of family members abusing or killing the people they are caring for, but this happens all the time in nursing facilities and hospitals as well. As part of our hospice program, we are supposed to get 5 days of respite a month where we send her up to the hospital to be taken care of so the caregivers can get some rest and take care of business. There are two problems with this: #1 we're only eligible if we're unpaid caregivers, even including the caregiver pay system through the government would make us ineligible. #2 the first thing they do as soon as they get her is taking away all her nutritional supplements, drug her up to the point of psychosis, and vomiting out any kind of intake, including water. This last time we had respite almost killed her and we were having to deal with it anyway so we weren't getting rest. We sent her up to get rest. Not for her to be executed. It's taken over a week and a half now to recover to the point of her thinking being clear again, but her appetite and physical capabilities seem to have taken a permanent hit and is speeding her decline.
Something that is hard to keep in mind is that the government has a vested interest in people in these situations to pass away as quickly as possible because they are considered a resource burden. It's one of the reasons why abuse in nursing homes is so rampant in addition to how difficult the work can be.
As for the caregiver pay i mentioned before. I have a friend who is on that system. It pays alright at 17/hour, but they apparently limit it to 10 hours a week. That might be dependent on the patient's situation since their patient is mobile and only needing limited support whereas my patient is bedridden. I'll be finding out soon since we won't do respite anymore.
Sometimes I do get depressed that I likely will never have a family to take care of me when I get to that age where I'll need help.
Yeah. I am a male nurse from germany. I worked 3 years in a nursing home for elderly people.
Sadly i understood very fast, that nursing homes were not institutions where older people could live their life in peace untill death.
Nursing homes are designed in a way so elderly people die off faster and don't burden the state. And the way it is done is trough underpayment and overworking of the staff. I quit after 3 years.
I didn't want to be part of this "death machine" anymore.
wish if I was defeated that race at that moment. speechless🤦♂️
Wow. Your insight helps a lot with why people prefer independent living or an extended family teaming up together to take care of a family member. Nursing homes are already sad places, but the fact they are actively making things worse for their patients is horrifying.
@@AlexBobalexRavenclaw My first experience with it was visiting the local nursing home as part of the boy scouts. Many of the people in there were very lonely and appreciated the company even though they couldn't speak with words.
how the hell is this even legal
I believe this is happening everywhere across the world. Japan is just much farther along the line than most countries. Them and S Korea.
I wish that was true for the Philippines.
@@mgsxmike It is. Oddly, I'm from the Philippines. My co worker's brother had to quit their job because their dad (70 years old) had a stroke. No one could take care of their father so someone had to quit working. He was the youngest so he volunteered to be the carer.
All the countries where this happens regardless of capitalism or communism all focus on maximum production of goods and materials. They’re very commercialized. That leads to overworking and having less kids
It's interesting that you say that. When I was about 10 to 15 years younger, I was in my teen years and learned the typical knowledge about Japan that was available. I thought that their struggles were unique to them, but eventually saw similar things happening in the USA. That is when I realized what you are saying...that they were just farther along the process and that we would catch up to that point eventually. I believe another country that is a good example of this is Germany.
@@ixiahj Are you sure it is true for the Philippines? I asked because I saw some news a few months ago about how we have around 8 billion people on the planet at this point, and one of the biggest contributors to reaching that population threshold was your country.
I can relate to all this, My parents had an accident in 02, I was young, and my brothers both had families with little children. So as a former Army Medic, I took over the car of my mother, who was disabled. My relationship with my ex-girlfriend came to an end due to immigration, and she was not allowed in the US. So I had to juggle work and travel with my mother's care. It was hard. I ended up in 16, putting my mother in a nursing home due to her health went down. I lost her in 18. Now I am 52, single, and own a house that's is almost paid for after 25 years, And it's just me, no one else., So I totally can relate. I still have debt from all this, but it's almost gone. You really don't have time to have a relationship, and it's hard. One thing my city put in place was like child daycare. They started an Elderly daycare, and this helps a lot. Maybe as a suggestion, talk with cities and businesses to see about doing this to help their workers who are in this situation.
You don’t think about starting a family now now that the debt is almost gone and manageable? I hope you do dude…
@@mintcarrier No, having a family doesn't bother me. What bothers me is how a 70-year-old father would handle an 18-year-old child, And I am not in Japan; I am in Texas. It's a different world. I lived in Japan for 7 years when I was young, and Honor is everything to me, But it's not the same in the US.
Hey man, thanks for taking care of your mother. I hope she appreciates the sacrifices and hardships that you had to endure.
@@econman5670 It did not matter to me I did what I could, and in the end, I held her hand my brothers with me, and watched her slip away. In the end, I am at peace with what I decided, and if it cost me a family with children it's fine, I have great nieces and nephews and a couple of grand nieces and nephews so it's all good.
I feel I am on your shoes now. I can tell your situation is 95% similar to mine. My father is disabled my brothers have families and I am the one suposed to take care of him since my uncle (actual carer) is having serious family troubles recently.
I would like to hear what the elderly say about the situation. Many elderly do want their kids to get married and have children. Are the elderly aware of the problem or are the kids hiding how much they sacrifice to take care of them?
Most of these old people are already in such a state that such considerations are beyond their mental capacity.
As someone who took care of my ex-mother-in-law for over 6 years, I can relate to this issue. And I was in my mid 30s. That was the main reason for my divorce, because my ex's mother had severe senile dementia and it is a mayor issue to deal with, specially if the person in question has a full range of mobility. It is really draining and consuming. That was also the reason my ex and I decided not to have children.
I can only imagine what a young teen must go through while caring for an elder relative or parent.
Sadly, this issue is going to become more and more prevalent around the world in the next few decades. There are some really difficult ethical dilemmas we, as a species are going to have to face regarding our elders and ourselves as we age. You guys (the Japanese, Chinese and Korean) are just at the forefront of the issue. We are seeing the clash of the old ways with our modern day context and we need to decide how we are going to as societies.
It is hard to admit, but the boomer generation has become the vampire generation, sucking the life out of the younger generations. And all of us that are growing old will inevitably join that vampire generation as we age. This might last for some decades until the population re-balances itself, but it will take a while. The stagnating effect of this re-balancing will last for quite a while.
My grandmother has dementia and she is blind, my mother has schizophrenia and one of the worse types and my father is an alcoholic who cares for nothing but to waste money on second hand phones and has 15 more years untill he gets to pension age. I am 27 and my friends make fun of me from time to time why "i have so much white hairs" without knowing how much struggle is for me to deal with this things.
@@MirceaPrunaru If they're making fun of you for that, then are they really friends in the first place?
@@TTMS-Khaz-kun More or less, some do not understand what the responsability of an adult are and maybe thats why they laugh but others do know what those are. Though I am gatefull to them cuz all this years they kept talking to me, they called me if I want to go out for a drink and stuff.
Tokyo is expensive, there are less expensive places. I looked at property prices in Japan, Osaka is much cheaper than Tokyo for example, there are even cheaper places.
I'd love to live in NYC, but i cant afford it. Im not gonna complain, i'll move to a less expensive area and commute longer if i need to. If i was a millionaire i wouldnt have this problem but i wasnt given a golden pacifier at birth.
It's cute you think things will balance again. Collapse is inevitable. Nothing will improve because people aren't genuinely free to have families like past generations. It used to be fully possible to support a family of 8, but with people now barely able to care for themselves while jobs demand even more sacrifice, this is a type of war we've never seen before and will never recover from until the cancers of business and finance are excised.
I've lived in both Japan and S. Korea, and it is obvious once you look deeply into these societies, it is clear the children are unhappy compared to kids in most other countries. School days are long and dreary. After school, these kids are off to cram schools until late in the evening. Kids are lucky to get home, eat, study a bit more, and go off to bed.
For many, a few hours of computer games or time on their smart phones is the only happiness in their lives.
That can't last forever.
@@melelconquistadorlike any system that relies on exploitation of someone/something without having a replacement, it will eventually break, unfortunately like with most things by the time it breaks it can no longer be fixed
The system in place is gonna fall, that's a certainty, problem is when it does it's likely going to destroy Japanese society as it exists now
My sister-in-law lives in Japan and her son leaves to commute to school every morning on a train, studies until 11pm, and takes vacation with the parents. He's told that he can enjoy life when he's older. But then, his father works hours like his studies and takes a vacation wherever the wife plans.
I remember it being that way as an American child, I was up before 5am with my mother and was often not retrieved from after school care until 7pm. I eventually refused to do any homework or study at all. I got a GED and now I am retired at 40.
Its the same in Singapore
My Japanese husband and I face a similar problem despite I'm a Filipino. I think my case is rare in the Philippines as an only child and the inevitable carer for my elderly parents. Our parents are in their 70s and we are in our 30s. We didn't have kids as we will be pressed with childcare costs and elderly costs together. Japan is expensive to live but even if we have to live in the Philippines right now, we still feel the same financial worry due to unabated inflation here. The only good thing I have in the Philippines is I already have my own house and car and won't have to rent or commute...and a small businesss on top of my day job which I don't have such privileges in Japan.
I think in the Philippines the problem is just starting to arise. Since I notice that there are a lot of people opting and having 1 or 2 children only. I hope that the Philippines will have social safety nets and learn from the mistakes of the Japanese.
Hope you and your husband can tackle your problem and good luck to your business.
This doesn't make sense: "We didn't have kids as we will be pressed with childcare costs and elderly costs together."
@@FUToobProbably meant to write “would have been pressed with”
So dont pay for them
Then that just means it’s better to remain in the Philippines and continue to raise a family there instead.
This is very important insight!
I remember watching a show called Catfish, and one of the cat fishers was an isolated and lonely American carer that sought connection by pretending to be other people. I hate how her loneliness manifested into lying to others, but I had compassion for her burdens. The fact that murdering the family elderly is the top crime in Japan is horrifying.
The aging population in Japan is not unique, but their cultural makeup is the real problem.
Not being able to allow society to help is one, but not being able to accept reality, is another.
To solve their problem, they will need to approach the problem from a wider perspective, not in the narrow one that they seem to be stuck with. I think it is their strong sense of maintaining their cultural dynamics, not being able to compromise, is what prevents them from moving forward.
First they need to improve social interaction and relationship building then marriage rates and only then childbirth rates, i always said it's a multivariate problem that can't be lumped into a single set of variables.
@@upsetforever7643 yup its a multivariate problem that many do not understand, we wont solve it. As smart as humans are we are also emotional, stupid, dumb and ignorant.
Yup, this is the core of the issue. Stubborn to change literally anything.
@@21Kikoshi Unfortunately you are correct in a perfectly rational world this would be an easy problem to solve but humans are irrational by nature and to become rational you need to be trained it's not something you can reach on your own because you are subject to biases and biases are large part of the reason why humans are not naturally rational beings.
Likely scenario is human extinction or critically severe drop in population that will irreparably damage genetic diversity of humanity, making progress even slower than ever before in human history requiring millions of years of stable harsh environment with sexual selection having emphasis exclusively on intellect to reverse damage done, and again this will be hard but plausible in perfectly rational population however a perfectly rational population would never allow themselves to be put in such position they would understand economic, social, logistical, legislative problems this will inevitably create.
Well the Financial education is most important one in the list.
Because without finacial education, how they suppose to spend time with family and friends, if a Job takes 99% of your lifetime,
this is not living, that's slavery and abuse.
Robert Kyosaki warned us.... A JOB IS FOR LOSERS!!!
STOP WORKING FOR MONEY!, LET MONEY WORK FOR YOU!
But people they don't listened! that's why old dumb politician boomers has all the power treating young men like puppets!
Thank you for the interview nobitagan
I'm excited to see you again 😊
This comment may offend many but it is a truth that needs to be acknowledged. The post WW II generation in the US, Europe, and Japan created these vast social security systems that are unsustainable. The debt-based financial systems each of these societies have created are siphoning off the future wealth of subsequent generations.
With regard to people having expectations that their children take care of them until they die- this is a very selfish expectation. The last thing I would want is to be a burden. I want my family to enjoy the productive years of their lives.
Thank you for spelling it out.
We have a generation who promised themselves that future generations would give them all these benefits. This was based on every couple having 3+ children, and economic growth continuing uninterrupted. They then went and had fewer than 3 kids on average themselves, so the system was doomed from the start.
Not Japanese but I could relate with the "Kaigorishoku" I left my job to take care of my mother who suffered hemorrhagic stroke. She mobility challenged from 2004 until now. there are times where I was able hire someone to take care of her but those carers resign after 2 or several months. leaving me of resigning (when I have to take care of ma) and applying for jobs (when is able to hire someone to take care of ma) cycle. I pay my taxes well but Gov't don't see us and focuses on using tax money to give to drug addicts.
日本に住んでるフランス人なんですけど、こういうのを見たら泣きたくなりますよね。Communication本当本当本当大事ですよね。
物凄く興味深い動画ありがとうございます。
Thank you again, Nobita, for always covering such important topics!!
About blaming and shaming young people for not voting.... that's something that we see happening all over the world.
But at the same time, I don't see schools teaching kids about politics!! How is a newly adult person, who just turned 18, supposed to know how to vote, and who to vote for ??
Most yound adults have no idea about how the system works and how voting can affect their life and future... of course they're not interested in voting....
Hoping that parents teach them or that kids just learn by watching politics being covered on TV is incredibly irresponsible and unrealistic!
It starts with Education !
same with paying taxes, no one teaches you but your still expected to do them properly
The only advise I can give to anyone is to prepare themselves to be old. Eat well, work out, read, continuously challenge yourself and learn new things. There are many people who are 100 and live alone, have no issues doing every day activities. I would not want to be a burden to my kids or grandkids just because I am old.
Don't ever have kids ...it is selfish bringing them here in this cruel world in the first place
@@kentang1528and? They are simply saying that we are responsible for our own health and if 100 years can take care of themselves then we c a learn to prepare to take of ourselves too whether or not we have kids or not
For the rest of the world these things are still a luxury in a worldwide culture that normalize the phenomenon of "working yourself to death"aka. hustle culture. You can't have it all and you inevitably suffer while ageing. Because hustle culture is the most unhealthy thing that is expected by everyone.
If it were as simple as just eating right and exercising but illness can still happen, genetics can cause dementia and Alzheimer’s to develop completely out of your control. I think it’s more responsible to make sure you’re saving enough money so if you do need assistance later in life you can afford it. Have a stock portfolio starting as early as you can in life and don’t waste money on frills.
@@understone86I complete agree with you. My great grandparents reached 90s my grandparents reached 70s still healthy, but my parents are not healthy when reaching 60s and I got healthy issues by my 30s, that being I am the one who worked 70 hours a week for years.
I find it strange that the older generations find it natural, that their children, must quit their job, to take care of them. It's rather selfish imo.
thats the way the boomers think. me me me
Yep... boomers are the ones that raised and taught, by example, the millennials to be super entitled. Gen X (My generation) are a bunch of screw ups because they were not correctly taught by the Boomers. The Millennials will inherit the entire price of the foolishness of the Boomers and the Apathy of Gen X. However... they will deserve it as they cry to government for salvation... just like Boomers and Gen X did.
If I had a child, I'd want him or her to live their life without the burden of taking care of me. My parents already took care of me, so I should take care of my children, not the other way around. If I'm old, I should take care of myself or pay someone to do it. Or find somewhere to lie down and end it all.
Please don't have a child ...end all the suffering created by humans..support antinatalism. So we can end all this burden and suffering. Never bring a kid into this cruel world and expect them to take care of you when you are old...it is just selfish
@@danfg7215 That is wrong. Children should take care of their parents. The problem is that Parents don't act like proper parents. They life with the idea of kicking children out at 18 and living with no one else home and that is stupid. Parents should be teaching children to live peacefully with the family... if the family can't live in peace with each other how do you folks expect society to remain at peace? It cannot... it will destroy itself one way or another.
My parents planned for their elder years, and were able to maintain their own house hold but when their health problems became overwhelming we kids had to step in to help. Eventually the estate hired a nurse/House keeper to assist them on a daily basis until they died.
It’s a big burden for families whose older adults cannot enter the long-term care facilities due to stigma including dementia. They have to take care of their parents without support from the society. Once they complete their mission, they cannot return back to work due to their worsened mental and physical health leaving the country accepting more foreigners to work. It’s not like they are not capable but the society also limits its own people.
This powerful country needs to do something to decline gradually gracefully.
I've seen a lot of coverage of this topic but this is a unique perspective on it! Great journalism.
a filipino friend of mine worked in japan at the elderly center. it was very hard. culture, language, family membeer dynamics. he only last 4 years there then went back to the philippines.
i guess he wouldve stayed there if pay is higher and the process of getting his family to move there is EASY or ALLOWED.
We don't want immigrants at all. Filipino can never be Japanese.
In the US too…most elderly Americans are entitled compare to elderly Japanese
Thank you, Nobita-san, for exploring this issue. This is very relatable for me. Some of us have these responsibilities, which are not easy. There needs to be changes in society or law. But for now the burden is largely on family members.
It makes me realise that what's the purpose of living 90 years if you can't even walk by your own self and eventually end up becoming a burden on younger generation.
You made it possible for them to HAVE a Generation. Never forget what they built for you.
@@MickeyMishrabuilt what?? Building humans by being horny? 🙄
Shoe on head could help you out. @@mayshusakuhanamurasufferli5438
As a former registered caregiver, I can vouch that while the elderly may at first be upset for being cared by a stranger or moved to a facility, give it a few months, I guarantee they will get used to it and not mind so much.
I salute all the interviewers in this video. They are bringing that change ❤
Another excellent video
Thanks Nobita! Your work is an exceptional gem for understanding Japanese Culture.
Last thing, everyone should realize that it is ok for children to not love their parents for one reason or another..Not every child lives an ideal childhood. Verbal abuse can affect a child as an adult and lead to illness. There is society's pressure to demand children love their parents and many adult children are told to be grateful to their elderly parents and to want to care for them and love them. It's wonderful if the children feel that way for real but if they are holding back resentment, then in reality they are choosing to not love oneself and this can lead to serious mental and physical illness. So many people lie to themselves that they feel more love for their parents than they actually do, especially when caring becomes difficult or the elderly have changes in personality as they regress mentally. Every family caregiver is going to have to understand that one day they will be seeing their parents as patients more than a mother or father and will have to treat them that way, especially if they have dementia. This is my experience where as an agency registered caregiver, I was taught by the agency how to handle my mother when she became difficult. Lying to them for their own safety and medicating them to calm them down becomes routine - when they become just patients, not parents anymore. Caring for my mother before I put her in a group home was just a job towards the end, it is the only way to stay sane. If you cannot love yourself while caring for an aging parent and cannot care for yourself, you should not do it. If you are too mentally and physically stressed you can be sure your own life will be shorter than your parents. Chances are you will come down with cancer or autoimmune disease after your parents have died and you think you can relax and take time for yourself.
Your body knows it is not loved even if you ignore it and try to repress the stress and it will come out in the end as a disease for you. To find out more - check out Dr. Gabor Mate's lecture on RUclips "When the Body Says No -- Caring for ourselves while caring for others." ruclips.net/video/c6IL8WVyMMs/видео.html
This is an articulate and reasoned comment. The breakdown happens since society is no longer agrarian and having many children is costly.
I was going to bring up these points but you said them beautifully. I don't get on with either of my parents (they never got on with each other either and got divorced within a few years of marriage). I have an abusive criminal father who falls under the category of "clinical psychopath" and a mother who is the opposite, and honestly can't stand to be around either of them for to long. As a result of a bad child hood, I never wanted kids or to ever be a parent, or have much to do with them. They are on their own now, and that is what you get when the worm turns. As I get older I also know I will be much in the same boat as them, but I made plans years ago that when I am at that physical/ mental point, I don't intend to stay in this world. There has been a movement over the years for people to self terminate before bad health and modern medicine means years of torture, abuse, suffering, etc. Its not worth it to me honestly. As for more people without kids, this is indeed happening, mostly due to lack of control over their children, massive costs, increased investment of time and energy into an unstable system to try to pay for it all. Its even becoming to expensive to have pets in a lot of countries.
These are incredible stories. Thanks for sharing
Thanks again for the info.❤
Trying to take care of yourself, your spouse, your children or potential future childern, and responsibilities to your elderly parents all at the same time and all within a fixed or limited resources, assistance, and income. Geeezzz, the high expectations and standards, well I can't blame them for the feeling not wanting to get married and have kids. Also the unrealistic expectations and standards when it comes looking for a marriage partner in Japan. I really can't comment beyond that because realistically everyone's situation are different and unique. Well...can't please or satisfy everyone even if you try, vicious life cycle huh.
and you can add that tinder and all that internet stimulus of created non sensical, high expectations ( fantasy and not realistic ) just destroyed every society ( + everything you said )
as an asian born and raised in the west but growing up with traditional confucianism values, i feel myself in all of them especially as the eldest of my family,...
Thanks for sharing
Hi! I really like your videos about Japan. I have been watching your videoa for years now.
I live in UK and gave up my job 15 years ago to care for my Parents, now I am elderly myself.
Society has fallen behind when it comes to dealing w/the problem of an aging population. In places like Japan, robotics were meant to deal w/issues like this, but such technology has become stagnant & directionless. Government has also not invested enough resources.
Speaking of which, care-givers should be a more important, well-payed career choice promoted by the government.
The problem is that this can easily become a vicious cycle: the people who feel that they're being selfless and helpful by having fewer kids so they can focus on caring for their older relatives are in turn setting up a situation where there will be fewer people to share the load when they get older and need care.
Its called a Death-spiral....an politicians dont care cuz its a matter of the next 20years but they just think about theire 4?5? year term -.-"""
That is, while absolutely callous and very cruel to say, a self solving issue, they will die of and the country that let it happen will cease existing
Japan right now has 2 choices adapt or die, either they change the culture in a way they can accept and do what must be done to keep their county going or nature is gonna do it for them, and nature is seldom kind or forgiving when it goes about dealing with issues
Time to build the robots.
There needs to be a culture change if they want to stop or at least slow down the the decline.
I hope Japan changes a little bit !
In Europe , we do care, and take care of our elderly, but our economy is so bad , that we can't leave our jobs.
That's why more and more there are people to take care of them if they are really sick ~ my 4 grandparents loved to have their house, they didn't want to leave. They liked the independence. But my family still lives pretty close, so we saw them everyday.
About children, in Portugal, the birthrate is declining too. Because young couples can't afford a house, food and a baby. That's really sad.
I hope both our countries get better in the future. Thank you Nobita-san . 🙏
@@hn2405 Eh, Soylent Green’s solution is much more pragmatic in my opinion. The question is, would you actually want to experience a society built on such foundations?
A lot of the issues felt by carers (or care-givers) is not just a single country issue. In many areas around the world, more and more young people are giving up on relationships in order to look after their disabled or elderly parents. Even if the young person is disabled themselves. Maybe if we can setup societies and building structures that allow the disabled to look after themselves and work for themselves first, that might just even out the distribution of life's work.
The one thing that stood out for me is how many elders need care in Japan. I read that Japan have the oldest people in the world because they live healthy lives in general. Seems , at least to me, that the people of Japan lifestyle is becoming more like the rest of the world.
I don't see any point in dying old ..it is better to die young or not be born in this world in the first place
There has been a gradual shift in their lifestyle and food. People get more often ready-to-go food from convenience store. And, as is the case everywhere around the world, to increase food availability and decrease the cost, the quality goes down. Besides, the working to death mentality was not always as prevalent. (and I think the healthy elderly were the young generation during Japanese economic prosperity)
@@kentang1528 seek help, seriously
Life expectancy is expected to drop since they eat convenience food more now. The old healthy ones had wildly different diets and lifestyles.
It's really too expensive
Very interesting... Thanks again for the interviews. It's like this in Korea as well , no?
I checked out the interview Connor Tomlinson did with the director of The Birth Gap documentary, and highly recommend. I think it's down to the public perception of future outlooks. The trend started with the oil crisis and nothing good enough changed people's minds.
I'll tell my kids that if I ever get to the point that I can't take care of myself then just let me hit the bucket. Really, what is the point by then?
Cost of living has increased as have taxes and health costs. But salaries haven't changed in the twenty plus years I have been here. Only a wealthy person or a fool would have kids in Japan.
Where is all that money going? Nobody ask themselves that question and as soon as we mention the uber rich not contributing anymore to the safety net of society everyone freaks out!! It's a race to the bottom.
Good video, Nobita!
I think humanity took the baby boomer generation for granted and thought of the increased profits, technology, industry, and mass levels of consumerism should be the norm. So prices for everything jacked up, higher education is demanded, more people are working, so everyone gets paid less and must work longer hours.
Now the baby boomers are on their way out, but society hasn't thought to readjust. Worldwide the system is harder for younger people to get into and succeed than previous generations.
Now younger generations trying to work can hardly take care of themselves, but to ask them to care for statistically more elderly, work more, and THEN have kids and make sure everyone is taken care of? No. Something WILL give.
And countries have shot themselves in the foot by upholding social and cultural norms that discourage certain behaviors that could lead to positive changes. You want Japanese people to talk about their problems? Since elementary school they were taught to sacrifice themselves for social harmony. Complaining is looked down upon and the nail sticking out gets hammered. Even within households, family members don't discuss problems so as not to trouble their family. Uncomfortable topics are to be avoided. You're not gonna suddenly work norms out of entire generations of people unless something drastic happens to force such a large amount of people to make a cultural shift.
And that's only ONE of the bad cultural/social norms for ONE country. It's not the end of the world, but EVERY society on the planet is going to have to understand soon is that time is moving on and the society that was enabled by the baby boomers is sunsetting WITH them and we will all be FORCED to adjust. Sad thing too is when we lose the baby boomers, the world will also lose the sheer amounts of EXPERIENCE and TRAINING they collectively had, but FAILED to pass on to future generations.
"the world will also lose the sheer amounts of EXPERIENCE and TRAINING they collectively had, but FAILED to pass on to future generations."
My mom and grandma know so many "life hacks" and just... things about simply being alive and keeping yourself that way. But of course since forcing me to get an A from memorizing a bunch of data I forgot right after the test was more important I don't know any of it.
just allow magic mushroom & LSD for the whole families.
YOU THINK I M JOKING ?
this would work 1000%
you're just saying that american world order is ending. but i disagree on the social harmony part. if the society is managed well there is no problem. few abled people should manage and majority need to be silence and obey them. this is how the world works. if you want to learn, check out how democracies ended, they always turn into bad versions of what i described.
Nobita, the rising number of young people in Japan who care for elderly relatives and cannot find time & resources to marry and raise a family is disturbing. This is also not confined to Japam but also happens in China. China's one child policy years ago is coming back to haunt China's planners and demographics. When younger people do not marry or do not have children because of family obligations, limited income or bearing the stress of caring for aging parents, it has a long term effect for the future. In the broadest terms child bearing fulfills the natural need for replacements. Yet that is blunted by the need and also the felt obligation to care for aging parents. Depending on the family structure and how parents themselves behave, the sense of 'You must care for us' or guilt adds to the emotions and stress. I know this from personal experience when I began to believe this obligation was my reason for existing. Some parents try to be more understanding, while some parents apply more guilt and pressure. Whenever we discuss care for the aged, there seems to be a silent omission of whether it is voluntary or done because the young get shamed. The latter is unhealthy and leads to either no marriage or such late marriage that is more staged than natural. Employers in Japan should play a constructive role. Rather than simply cutting wages, employees should be allowed to telecommute. If people could work remotely because of covid, why not also for family care? Also Japan's immigration policies can be changed to bring in more social workers & nurses from abroad who have had some intensive training for language skills and cultural awareness. Leaving things to the status quo is not wise or sustainable for Japan. There must be flexibility to arrive at solutions, and the need is urgent.
China however can brute-force change across society and business (many big businesses have CCP 'commissars' in their board of directors, to tow the party line), whereas Japan's politicians coast on the votes of the elderly voting bloc, which will get more and more influential as the population ages.
Imagine suddenly you can't get promoted, or your only child can't get into a prestigious university because your social credit is too low, due to you having too few children.
I am an American and my country is almost no better. The birth rate is not the problem, the problem is mostly the lack of responsibility and the financial resources are unbeatable and the leaders of my country are completely out of touch with what people truly need when comes to being independent. Had it not been for my girlfriend and the resources she has blessed me with, I would have been like many people in your country for different reasons, especially the feelings of shame.
Americas problem is a lack of TND
@@chokabitch9342 TND?
No problem when you are rich nation, poor nations collapse under pressure. We will all look back in 20 years on how low births were no issue for rich nations.
@Tethloach1 But it's not going to matter whether we are rich or not if my generation and a few down the road do literally nothing with it, which has been happening for a very long time.
Update: On top of that, you are only seeing the "rich" people they want you to see. You'd be amazed on how many of us are anything but rich.
@@chokabitch9342 BASED
Wages are low in Japanese nursing homes despite being overworked
We are always understaffed
the government should fix that first
I think we should make sure that we are fully prepared to receive
this video hit home in an extremely painful manner
I do believe it has to be some sort of communication between the parents and the kids. They can go one with their lives, but the kids could visit the parents on a regular basis.
I am a United States resident and I took care of my mom until her last breath.❤❤❤❤
As sad as this is, government policy cannot change cultural problems.
Unless culture is changed, the problem will continue to persist.
Finally someone here says it. 99% of people think the gov't is going to solve all the problems when they're part of the problem.
Both government policy and culture needs to change if Japan wants to get through this.
It's not possible to solve problems with the care of the elderly by increasing the fertility rate, more children mean more elderly in the future. The state should create a network of care facilities.
just allow facilities for old people to kill themself like in Canada.
As Indonesian,which is still a developing country, I start to feel this way too. Basically marriage is getting more unafforadble.
Woman is expensive more than normal.
@@shin-ishikiri-nothe feminist poisoning women everywhere...
@@shin-ishikiri-noyou bought woman ??
We need "right to die" laws in every country. I would happily opt in rather than be a burden on my children and live a barely-there life where I cannot even move without help.
That's not really a choice you're making freely if your society is failing to provide the support you are entitled to. Are you sure the norm isn't to consider and make people see themselves as disposable?
This is also a problem with having fewer children in the past. If parents have only one child, then that child has to take care of their parents alone. If they had 3-4 children, those children could spread out the responsibility. And if the parent is a single child, they have no siblings, nephews, or nieces to stay with or help out.
Mate in case you haven't noticed, it's pretty damn crowded already. We went from 1billion in 1800 to over 8b in just 200 years. Idk how many do you think are reasonable, IMHO we're maxed out already.
@@mysterioanonymous3206 While rapid population growth was not sustainable, neither is rapid population, which is what many countries are now looking at. How does a society care for it's elderly when the elderly are a third of the population and they don't have children to take care of them?
@@johnmorrow5461 they can't be taken care of. the more you force it the faster it collapses. humanity should've never challenged the nature
Yeah. We in germany often look at japan and see our future in 10.years. Yes we have migration, but it is not enough to compensate for the incoming problems.
as freedom increases and shame decreases, the desire for new experiences increase as well.
I enjoy this channel, because these same issues discussed that are effecting Japan will eventually effect America.
this is a great episode showing layer and layer of problem in ageing society
As a Japanese descendant third generation born in Brasil I understand it well but if everyone care for the elders it`s just a sad reality that Japanese economy will collapse sooner or later due to lack of active working people and low birthrate, not saying that`s right to leave parents abandoned but people also can`t just quit their life choices, carreer and dreams and also when parents are working they hire babysitters to care for their children so why not just hire some caregivers
Shiori Ito BRILLIANTLY had shaken the Japan. I wish women like her should come forward.
This problem with declining birth rates and population is actually a symptom of urbanization or rapid urbanization. It is a common condition in all developed and rapidly developing countries. The real cause is uncontrolled rate of migration (urbanization) from rural areas (low cost of living, low stress and high birth rates) to urban areas (high cost of living, high stress, and low birth rates) usually to get a better education and to find work or a livelihood. This is a very common problem all over the world. The solution is to reverse the flow of migration back into rural areas by creating jobs and opportunities in rural areas, and to incentivise families to have children, with bonus incentives for having more than 2 children (such as lowered income tax or increased child support payments, etc.).
if the young people caring for their elderly parents hold off starting their own family thus becoming older first time parents they will just be passing the burden to their own children caring for them…..I can understand their reluctance to have children. Seems like a cycle that can’t be broken
Doing the same thing here in the U.S. because the quality of care at the nursing homes wasn't up to par, and financial reasons - no obvious clear way to have enough money to get better care for my mother than what I can do myself.
In the U.S.A, typical work week is 40 hrs for full time, anything after that is payed over time unless your salary. What's the typical work week in Japan?
2. Whats the incentive to get married in Japan, tax breaks, low interest rate to buying a home?
Will a child born to foreign couple or half Japanese half another nationality be considered a full Japanese citizen?
I am an American who would love to take care of my parent and grandparent with everything I can provide. However, with my own life circumstances, it would be difficult to have my own family as well take care of both generations. I choose my career and my wife over things that my parent and grandparent wish I would do for them weekly. I always said it was selfish of me to think that way. However, I couldn't survive if I was always there when they needed something like a caretaker. I also don't live close to them and each time I would visit it is to be expected that I will have to alot 4 hours of my days to see them for about 2hrs in person and 2 hours on the road. I opted to see them maybe bi-monthly. For I only have 1 day to myself. The rest are given to my work, chores, time spent with my wife, and any side hustle I wish to do. That doesn't even include my goal to obtain a bachelor's degree while working full time.
Why? Because nothing changed.
People are still spending most of their day working and drinking and then return home too tired, with no time for anything.
Sex education is still taboo and the dinosaurs in charge of the country is still trying to force that stupid ideal of purity, even though the number of virgin adults is still rising and the couples are more sexless than ever.
Women still expect men to earn a fortune so they don't settle for less, while men know they can't make a fortune so they don't even bother looking to marry.
Raising a child is still very expensive and it doesn't get any cheaper.
Internet and modern comfort taught people not to rely on each other anymore because you can do most of the things alone, without even going out, so people grew apart from each other. People fell in love with being alone and self-sufficient.That's the opposite of what a family life should look like.
There's a lot of different factors at play but most boil down to "nothing really changed"...not for the better.
add to that modern love is just "tinder swipe" and you got the perfect recipe born from the end stage of capitalism.
it's not a bug of capitalism, it's a feature !!
a system that work on extraction and not harmony with nature will ultimately fail when extraction is over.
This video shows one of the reasons Japanese live so long.
There are many people who sacrifice their life to take care of them while they are disable and cannot survive without care.
The hospitals do as much as they can to keep them alive as it is great business for them.
Obviously society pays the price
Actually they "live" long because nobody checks on the elderly that have been dead in their apartments for over 10 years and thus still have their post death years counted and added to statistics.
In discussion with different groups like the elderly in positions of power, people should be able to operate within the values or style of that other group to get their message across. Of course you might not want to change the way you do things just to accommodate a group that you dislike, but it is easier and better to understand/cooperate with the Other if you play their game a little. If the elders are stubborn in there. Alyssa, then you could supersede their values with an alternative or an upgrade that favors your goals.
Correct, I took care of 3 elderly, I passed my marriage age 50 now after my parents pass away 75. Best solution government should build small elderly santuary where all care facilities are avaliable to take off adults burden so they can get marriage and have families which they can visit weekends and take them home while holidays
Japan is the world’s top 5 most expensive country to live in.
Hopefully they do something about the decline if it’s possible. Their population is aging out and many young folks aren’t focused on having kids or raising a family. High cost of living and a hectic work life are just some reasons.
people dont understand the problem, it wont be solved we just need to live with it, its a global problem
@@21Kikoshi it is happening other places. People have decided to do what’s best for themselves rather than for government reasons. There might not be any solutions and yet I still hope the people find some way of enduring through this.
@@ComposedSage75 What's best for themselves is to grow up, find a good long term partner and to have kids. They are not doing this.
@@21Kikoshi It’s their choice overall if they decide to have kids. Everyone isn’t meant to have them. Whether or not they “grow up” or “find a partner” doesn’t mean the outcomes will be to their benefits.
@@ComposedSage75 If they can, its in their best interest to have them. If they can and choose not to have them they are either too immature, have not realized the importance and what it means to be human, too selfish, have not acquired the skills of life. They are choosing to end their entire ancestry.
Those who have no children are going to find they have no one to care for them. It is very sad.
Here in the USA I gave some care to a parent when I was young. I never said anything, because what was there to say? And I did not see that talking about it would change anything. I simply needed to go home every day when school was out and so I no longer could talk to my friends and they drifted away.
I mean Japan is not the only culture/place where younger people have to take care of their parents because of dire circumstances. There are people from other cultures that are doing the exact same thing and still having a part-time / full-time job and still having kids with no sense of burden or problem. But there are some elderly that are not so lucky in this case and they end up becoming homeless or living in the homeless populated area on the other side of My advice to this is just a boss up.
It will be interesting how Japan handles this problem. Those of us in the western world will be having these same issues. Although here in the U.S a large and partially uncontrolled immigration policy will alleviate the aging issue but bring many other problems. Least of which is climate change due to 100 million more Americans that want that first world lifestyle in the coming years.
@@hn2405 I have no problems with immigrants, last time i checked U.S. had only benefited from immigration, naysayers don't complain about Irish or Norwegian immigration but Mexican or African so i think a bit of consistency and empathy is in order especially amongst the right end of the spectrum.
@@upsetforever7643 It's more of an issue of people despite race or ethnicity living a first world lifestyle. A Mexican or African immigrant will use the same amount of resources as an immigrant from Europe. Are we not worried about oil use and and ecology degradation? I don't give a crap who comes to the U.S. I just don't think it's wise having a 100 million more of us. Particularly in just a couple decade span. I know its unpopular to say this but less people the better worldwide. I would rather have 3 billion of us living a comfortable life. Rather than 10 billion of us living in squalor.
@@nyannyan123456 Yes we are worried about that and those things need to be fixed or made more sustainable it's a problem by design not because it has to be a problem , reduction in world population won't accomplish that which you think it will all it will do is ruin U.S. as economic growth drops and birthrates plummet, people seem to think that birthrates will stabilize at some point they wont, with birthrate of 0,78 that South Korea has will not be stabilizing any time soon because less people you have now even less you will have for next generation to reproduce furthermore males are born more often than women and not every woman is fertile or wants a child which makes cycle repeat and reduce population ad infinitum this trend may work for whichever misguided purpose you think it fulfils but how do you intend to stop it when the time is right? Trend is difficult or impossible to stop unless you employ some draconian measures, economic incentives were tried and failed look at history Japan, USSR which tried massive economic campaigns to incentivize people relative to their living standard to have more children it didn't work but it also didn't work everywhere else it was tried it only works to incentivize people who already had kids and planned to have their second or third child,
On the topic of immigration, you require immigration precisely to maintain lifestyle you are accustomed to, without immigration nothing would work way more than half of people in largest tech companies weren't born in U.S. reason is quite simple U.S. cannot produce enough engineers of that quality and despite liberal propaganda you cannot train everyone to do everything.
@@upsetforever7643 I heard the economic bullet points so many times. If population drops so does the economy. It really is just a Ponzi scheme. A scheme the earth can't handle.
Japan can fix their problem in a heart beat. Open the borders but they don't want non-Japanese moving to their country. So, they'll have to figure something else out.
I think you are selling domestic s.t.e.m. students short, but if you're right and the U.S. economic might is mostly due to imported skills. Then something has to be done to keep those individuals in their home countries. Those nations will forever be backwards due to brain drain.
Thank you Nobita @thejapanreporter for interviewing both of us about this difficult scenario facing Japan. Sadly there is not just a single simple solution to Japan’s declining birth rate… but we can try to combine multiple strategies together to reduce the acceleration of Japan’s aging population…
My part 2😊 my grandfather only grade 5. In just 6 month he is marine enginner. My grandma grade 3 work in the office😄then grandparents they go to school grade 1. About 10 years old or other. School is money making..
I’m a german citizen and we have a similar problem, just much lighter than in Japan, it seems. Here we have not enough careworkers because they don’t make enough money to sustain a healthy lifestyle, especially if you have your own children with your life partner, so many choose a different profession. Secondly, the birth rate is also going down but it is not comparable to Japan. For us, there are still many babies born every year but Millenials don’t want to make children and rather have fun sleeping around. Me as a 24 year old I’d love to be a father. Currently I do have a girlfriend that may want children in the future, however, generally speaking it seems that it has become difficult to find two people that are really ready to want children. So it seems to me that Japan and Germany are comparable, just that Japan is a much more severe case and with the difference that people do want children and marry, but have difficulties doing so because of the things mentioned in this video.
Japan and Germany are on the same track, but Japan is about 20-30 years ahead of Germany. A key reason people focus on Japan is because other nations are looking for solutions to problems they're going to have to face shortly.
i'm hoping you're joking. since 1997 birthrates of japan and germany are almost the same. only after 2016 germany increased a little bit and we all know that's because of immigrants
I doubt the western countries have no such problems.
It would be great if there are some info about how other countries actually do it.
I'm guessing families are quite small? In my culture, we also look after our ageing parents and it's common to see 3 generations in one household but I have 6 siblings. The average number of children I've seen in a family is around 5...my cousins are a family of 8 kids. So it's easier to split the effort to look after elderly parents (But most older parents are capable of independence anyway, financial support is all they need until a certain point where one passes away or becomes ill and needs care )
Good honest interviews. We see benefits cannot be eligible to everyone. It's tougher to get them in Japan.
If your domestic food production (food security), birthrate, and rural population plummeted in lockstep (as they are all interlinked), wouldn't the government see a colossal problem slowly creeping up on it and DO SOMETHING over that 50 year period??!!
It's government, if it won't crash and burn before your term is over there's no incentive to do anything and just let it become a problem for the next guy
@@WindupTerminus good point, unless you are actually working for the good and future of your country. Not everyone acts out if short-sighted self interest...but you do seem to be correct in this case...
@@matrixuser7158 It's the election cycle for many democratic countries. Politicians only care about getting elected and re-elected, and once their terms are about to run out, start peddling influence for a cushy lobbyist job.
@@WindupTerminus Yep and the next guy better come up with : cheap, effective, affordable multipurpose solution that eliminates all fears about Japanese low childbirth rates else be berated by opposition who above everything else whish to become the number one power and once they propose solution the others berate that so cycle continues until catastrophe comes knocking the issue is politicized and so is subject to bureaucracy even though issue is existential in nature and not political.
@@matrixuser7158 I can only speak for my own country, but since politician became a career I have only seen "me first, country second" as the priority of every politician.
do to cost of living this is why develop country had low birthrate and if you look at country that had a more agriculture based (usually poor ) they had more children as cost of living was much more cheaper and they had more resources to raise more children ironically
Nice update to the 1st episode. Japan is a leading indicator for the underpopulation trend that's occurring to pretty much all developed countries (Germany, Russia, to a less extent US) and many developing countries (including China). We will be seeing more of this in the next decade or two. Perhaps we can learn from what is happening in Japan in order to stave off the worst of this.
They know that which is why they all try to compete for highly educated, but most importantly young immigrants to support the system. But they'll take anyone really. Little do they know that this just creates more problems (culture wars in the west) and within one generation they have the same low birthrates, thus perpetuating the problem.
And the Japanese Government is also expanding "Training Visa" (Slave Visa),
to deal with Basic low level labors, like Construction, Farming, Fishing, aka, physical Grunt works, are Exploiting people
from Poor Countries, Vietnamese, Philippines, etc.
😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮! Whay is the government NOT addressing such issues? It's mind-boggling! 😢😮😢😮😢😮😢😮😢
When my parent was busy, my grandparents took care of me when I was 3 years old...And now when my grandparents started to get sick and couldn't walk anymore, my aunt, my uncle and my family took turns taking care of my grandparents. Sometimes my siblings and I also help in taking care of them...
So i dont really understand with this problem...🤔 maybe this is not the main cause of declining births and just one of the minor reason😅
I think many dont have aunts and uncles and it’s just one kid in a family because of the previous generation’s struggle with overwork and finances
@@floragraves5167 wow...that means the cause of the problem is (the lack of self-confidence) and (fear of being poor??) 🔄🤯😥 or because of the system in the country itself🤔
@@zerononame1522 probably system and a government not in a hurry to change. Commercialism focuses on boosting production which means working workers until they fling themselves out of buildings and poverty for many. This environment would make many people curtain how many children they have
@@zerononame1522can you read? they said nuclear families is the problem, having no extender family
it's because of modernisation. people are stuck betwen time periods. most countries are forced to become modern without necessary fundemantals. only this is the problem. people must choose one or the other
I hear Japan has a low unemployment rate - which is actually good, since competition for jobs is much lower compared to say the United States.
OOOO SAY CAN YOU
In the UK there are complaints that the age to stand for election should be moved *UP* to 30 or 35, too many people stand for national election having done nothing but politics politics politics since entering university, and have no real experience of life.
Japan is such a cool country with an amazing culture, yet is also a bizarre place that strangles itself with absurd social notions.
One of things not mentioned is the cheating culture. Cheating is not only widespread but it's almost expected and treated as something cool and sexy. No one is going to have babies and settle down when they know the other person will be cheating on them almost guaranteed.