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Number of babies born in Japan falls to record low 811,604 in 2021

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Albeit, the main concern routinely expressed when this topic comes up is 'who will care for the old folks', that is almost certainly a lie. The real MAIN concern is that the Japanese version of OLIGARCHS might have to shell out more of their profits to provide more robust services for the elderly and that Japanese industry and ARMED FORCES might run short of bodies to exploit. Given the population density of Japan, fewer people can only be a blessing for the mass but a troubling concern for those who parasitize that mass and rue every Yen that they cannot grasp for themselves... Given adequate pay, resources, and working conditions, there will be no shortage of competent elderly care workers and a healthy geriatric population, 'dead leaves' or not.

2 ( +10 / -8 )

Next year's figure will become the lowest on record and be broken the following year and the trend will continue. I don't know anyone who really cares but I do hear a lot of lip service. It's not my ship capsizing.

5 ( +14 / -9 )

That’s a very strange theory and society construct, @William Bjornson. You cannot build a society only on elder people and the few rest caring for them, You need of course many children, their best education, many more people in industry and research for bringing the needed money in by globally wanted innovations, products and their global sales, and of course also a strong defense to keep the fruits of all those efforts in your hands and having a peaceful economy. IMO, the propagated downgrading , in population, industrialization, consumption etc is a very dangerous and misleading path. And even if that path is further followed, it would have to be strictly parallelized and balanced in every single detail.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Even this terrible Japanese fertility rate is better than that of China, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Italy, Hong Kong, Ukraine and Spain. Unbelievable.

3 ( +9 / -6 )

It's crazy, people would rather have a pet dog. You see them pushing the pet dog in a pram and talking to it. Taking the dog on a trip and buying it a birthday cake.

1 ( +13 / -12 )

I would actually be surprise if the birthrate and marriages had increase in 2021 during covid lockdown. Who in their right mind would want that to do that when all hospitals are occupy by covid patients? You couldn't even get appointment for a check-up.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

I think the people see that Japan future is not bright if ruling mentality continuing, and there is any signs that would change soon

3 ( +7 / -4 )

This is what happens when you tell workers they have to work 65plus hours a week

4 ( +10 / -6 )

I love my kids with all my heart, but seeing how the world is today, and specifically, how difficult it has been to raise them the past few years in Japan, if I could go back in time, I may have strongly considered not bringing them into this 5#!+show

4 ( +12 / -8 )

Sadly I do not see any reason as to why should anyone have kids if the situation continues to be as it is right now.

New parents are struggling to make ends meet, and are bombarded daily with demands from schools, and city offices, community leaders, and local hospitals.

Why have kids when you can't enjoy them?!?

6 ( +8 / -2 )

I would expect an uptick in marriages and babies after COVID.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

With global population heading for 8 billion any fall in population has to be good news for the planet, especially in rich countries such as Japan where in general, people consume way more than their fair share of the earth's resources.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Im certainly doing my part. Looks like baby number 6 is on the way.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Ifd66 you say that but like at the population of somewhere like Ethiopia.

Tripled , quadrupled.

No resources.

Bit of family planning might help.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

If the government was serious about reducing population decline they would create more national holidays and work hour limits. People aren't going to date as much when they are working all the time.

I personally see natural population decline as a good thing, but I like Japan and wouldn't want to see the youth population shrink too much.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

With global population heading for 8 billion any fall in population has to be good news for the planet, especially in rich countries such as Japan where in general, people consume way more than their fair share of the earth's resources.

Say goodbye to your culture as you're consumed by another.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

I don't think any incentives like reduced work hours, paid maternity and paternity leave will change this trend. It might raise the birth rate a bit but not to the replacement level of 2.1. The broad cultural paradigm shift that made people more individualistic is the underlying cause and I don't think there's any turning back from that. Population decline isn't as bad as some people make it seem like but people need to change their expectations from the baby boomer era about being able to retire early with a decent pension or care for the elderly by their many children. In short, save as much as you can when you are young and do not expect anything from the government as you'll get none.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

When you cannot afford to buy a home, you have to rent and when a man rent a home, that will make the lady feels financially unsecure. And thats why fewer people want to get marry or a long term relationship, that means fewer babies!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Until there's a huge reform in the workplace, real estate, gender equality, society etc. etc. this number will continue to plummet. People in Japan work too many hours to take care of themselves properly let alone go make babies and raise them. Then there's the expenses - having kids in Japan is expensive and made more difficult by said long working hours, lack of daycare facilities, mental costs for school things like those elementary school bags that cost an arm, a leg, and a kidney. Also, housing - expensive. With regards to gender equality, well women still get the boot once they've got a bun in the oven, don't they? Or they're at least afford fewer opportunities to climb the corporate ladder and/or are pressured to quit their jobs to be full-time homemakers. Too many barriers and not nearly enough incentives for people to go making babies.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

By prefecture, Okinawa posted the highest birth rate, with each woman estimated to have 1.80 babies in her lifetime, followed by Kagoshima and Miyazaki, both in southwestern Japan, at 1.65 and 1.64, respectively.

Okinawa has since long been an outlier or leader on high birthrate. Perhaps most of the rest prefectures can learn something from Okinawa.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@ ttavelbangaijin

I am French but can help too if necessary ;)

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Fertility rate is very low in Japan but in all rich countries also well below the replacement rate.

Giving women the choice to have children or not in a material world leads to this situation inevitably (makes me think of Madonna by the way).

So far with limited consequences because where just starting the downtrend of a rollercoaster. But one needs to ACKNOWLEDGE that population will be reduced by more than 25 % each 25 years or so ! No possibility to stop that outside massive immigration in the next 35 years now. And I don't see many women to change opinion in the next 10 or 20 years...

Make the calculations.

Europe is already flooded by the way by wrong choices which is making us much poorer in all aspects.

Of course worktime is a barrier. But not only.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Well, that's the world trend..

Make love and adopt cats..

Good !!..

3 sons, total joy but exhausted and broke. No rest for the weary.

Understandable, just like my friends, that's why I decided not to have children, you have money, you can travel and you have a lot of peace..

The globalists must be happy.

So happy..

We leave the sadness to others

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

What's the problem? Japan Is over populated.

-10 ( +2 / -12 )

Meanwhile in the poorest most impoverished countries that cannot support their populations, the populations are exploding. That is a problem.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Great news for an already grossly overpopulated country and planet.

-10 ( +1 / -11 )

don't know anyone who really cares but I do hear a lot of lip service. It's not my ship capsizing.

as a father of 2 Japanese children I feel that it is my ship capsizing even though I'm not Japanese. We are still trying to get to Canada, and if we do we can watch from a safe distance as Japan evaporates. But as long as we are here, its still our problem and I do worry terribly about our children's future.

just like my friends, that's why I decided not to have children

Thanks for that bit of good news.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

@Chabbaeanga

congratulations! Keep them coming. If we can get 10,000 families to have an extra 3 kids each year, we’ll be on our way to recovery.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

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