The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© KYODOMen rearing infants and toddlers an 'unwelcome idea,' says LDP exec
TOKYO©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© KYODO
68 Comments
Login to comment
cucashopboy
Hagiuda said that while firm data to back his assertion is hard to obtain, infants "must want moms, no matter how you look at it. I think it is a bit strange if they choose dads."
Such incisive reasoning!
What I would love, just once, is for Abe to take a stand and distance himself from such comments, which he NEVER does despite his grandstanding about 'a society where women shine'.
Simon Foston
Burning BushToday 06:57 am JST
There are plenty of other things fathers can provide but I wouldn't expect an LDP executive to know much about what people are like in the real world.
Vince Black
If the child is raised with love and attention what difference does it make?
Garthgoyle
This guy must be Aso's pal.
bjohnson23
The guy is right, that's it.
Bintaro
Women should work, but they are made to bear children.
Men should spend more time with their families, but not raise their children.
The LDP just can't choose...
How chocked will they be when they learn that in some countries, a kid can have two dads !
TumbleDry
Japanese politics is ran by dinosaurs...
plasticmonkey
I suspect that Hagiuda will soon express "regret" that his words caused "confusion".
econstats
Japanese politics is ran by dinosaurs...but at least they are smart dinosaurs. In the west, politics is run by retards.
zones2surf
The moment I read "male LDP politician" and "child-rearing" in the same sentence, I know its trouble.
Because its never truly about useful insights into child-rearing, its always about the chauvinistic male-oriented status quo.
This imbecile takes ideas and twists them to justify his preconceived notions about how things should be.
Thank goodness the times are changing and this idiot and his archaic ideas will eventually be relegated to the dustbin of history.
GW
Hopefully this old dinosaur hasn't bred, if he has I feel sorry for his kids!
zones2surf
@GW
In his case, if he has children, then most certainly better that their mother raises them!!
papigiulio
The cr*p that comes out of their mouths there in Kasumigaseki is incredible. What era are they from? Im sure he didnt change one single diaper either.
Howaitosan
These stupid and regressive old men need to be retired. They are holding Japan in a timewarp of their own making and it is damaging the country.
It's time for some new blood in the LDP.
bones
What do you expect from these political Oyagis? They make chauvinism look like chivalry.
kohakuebisu
What an idiot. Let people do what they want.
He obviously doesn't believe that a woman can have more to offer society than a man.
rainyday
What a jerk.
Ricky Kaminski
Classic J politics! In a simpler time it was indeed ideal for the child to have his mother around and research shows that it is actually important. Glad I was raised by a home mum volunteering at the school canteen , camps etc. But one of the tenants of Abenomics was to drag women into the workforce right? Come on boys. Stop stuffing around. Have a coherent voice at least, it’s confusing the people! If you can’t have a cohenrent vision for the future you shouldn’t be anywhere near a position of power, never mind in politics. I think the LDP is in a bit of an identity crisis. Will be interesting to see if they choose to evolve or devolve, or like a broken car they just continue to spatter away.
Disillusioned
I'm quite sure the millions of stay-home dads around the world would strongly disagree with this old fool.
Oh, good grief! What a load of utter twoddle! This 'bond' you speak of may be apparent in the first two weeks or so, but it is not important. Once a baby reaches 2 or 3 months old they don't care where the milk comes from, as long as they get it. Women are quite able to express their breast milk and store it for any father to give to an infant.
maybeperhapsyes
@plasticmonkey
And retract what he said. (That makes everything ok again, doesn't it?)
bones
Caveman mentality is rampant in Japan among other places...
Luddite
More sexist rubbish. This dinosaur knows sod all about child rearing.
Most Japanese politicians are as useful as a chocolate teapot.
kyushubill
"Hagiuda said that while firm data to back his assertion is hard to obtain"
That goes for any assertion an LDP dinosaur makes. The LDP motto is after all: Open Mouth, Insert Foot Then Take Out Foot And Repeat.
natsu823
I'm sorry for his wife
Concerned Citizen
Mother's having the primary role in the care of babies and toddlers: YES
He didn't say anything wrong in the least.
Women having a more prominent and equal role in society: YES
This is also a worthy goal.
viking68
So says the 54 year old infantile speaking to other infantile men.
How should children raised by men feel about these comments? Inferior, broken, defective, not loved? Should men stop caring for their children?
Is a mother broken, heartless, inferior because she works and is not at home full-time childrearing?
Who votes these dinosaurs into office?
rocketpanda
Look this waste of space preaching on top of his white horse. Those tinted sunglasses days are long gone. The ideal world we expects doesn't exist for many people. Maybe do something about the lack of daycare which should be a major concern for the government.
lucabrasi
LDP politicians should explain before they speak that their comments will be misunderstood or regrettably taken out of context.
It would save time in the long run....
RealCDN
Why is it that adult males are underrepresented in postings?
Bubblegun
Burning BushToday 06:57 am JST
Your right in its benefits, but are you aware there are many women who cannot breastfeed. EG. some women may have had a mastectomy. They maybe taking medication, or they may actually naturally not be able to produce enough breast milk.
You may also wish to consider that some women become depressed, some women become psychotic after delivery and yes some women still die in labour. Even so some women die due to other factors leaving behind many single fathers.
In these cases, guess who has to step up to the plate. The husband and the rest of the family. The skin to skin contact, you mention, also helps develop a deep and lasting emotional bond between mother and child and this is no different for a FATHER.
And while you bring up breast feeding, if you look back in history there were women employed as wet nurses. Would the bond be any less, between the biological mother who raises that child , and the women who breast fed that baby, with all the breast milk, skin to skin contact, eye to eye contact? Probably not!
Men cannot physically breast feed, but sometimes women can't either.
Civitas Sine Suffragio
He's right. Don't expect PC westerners to see sense though. As their countries and societies collapse, the more traditional countries and societies will only prosper.
Bintaro
For those interested, the original quote :
"Please think about it. There are no real statistics but if you ask kids zero to 3 years old if they prefer their mama or papa, it surely will be their mama. If an infant [zero year old (sic)] answers "papa", I think it's a little odd.
Thinking like this, if we don't raise the standards in a social system with the premise that women have many responsibilities, saying things like "it's a gender equal society" or "men also do childcare" may be an annoyance when concerning children.
I think that an environment where children can be with their mothers is necessary."
I love the totally scientific "ask a zero year old what he thinks" approach !
Toasted Heretic
Another sign of just how out of step the LDP is.
Japan, you can do better than this shower of incompetents and misogynists.
Belrick
He's only 54 but talks like a chauvinist pig of 80!
Belrick
Tradition will be Japan's downfall unless it steps up its global awareness game and actually understands it!
AgentX
Not sure if that is a good example...
Aly Rustom
Yep. same here Japan is truly run by sexist idiots, chauvanistic retards, and spoon fed indecisive man-babies.
And they wonder why the country is losing its stature in the world. If they keep electing these LDP jackasses constantly to power Japan will be resigned to being a little backwater in the Pacific. You reap what you sow.
Can it though? Recently I'm starting to wonder...
Yubaru
If you live here in Japan, it's obvious isn't it?
Toasted Heretic
I'm hoping it's just a phase. A long drawn out and ugly one, but a phase all the same.
Countries all have their peaks and troughs. And it becomes more visible when men feel threatened.
Alexandre T. Ishii
He is another spoiled mother's son. I don't know why father can't do that. One of the reason in Japan's life fathers are much disliked from children, no question about that.
RealCDN
Civitas SS you are correct. That likely disappoints 90 percent of the posters here who would like to breastfeed (give and/or receive), but I support the tradition of mothers doing that (give).
Raw Beer
I am sure there are plenty of fathers who can do an excellent job raising toddlers. But on average, women have a personality that is more suitable for this than men.
lostrune2
Infants who are raised by single fathers (e.g. death of the mother, etc.) are just as fine as raised by single mothers
It just depends how well the individual raises them
Toasted Heretic
Not really. Especially if one of the parents is abusive or alcoholic and beats the other and/or the kids. Or worse.
As long as the parent or parents are loving and responsible, there shouldn't be any impediments to looking after a child or children.
Not so. For the reasons already given. Also, adoption. Sure, if the child wants to meet in later life but parents who adopt can give a suitable loving environment too.
In the end, it's about love. Not archaic moral absolutes.
lostrune2
That doesn't make sense - many of the most traditional countries are 3rd-world countries
Heck, Japan is one of the most traditional of the industrialized countries - and yet Japan isn't doing as well as the less traditional ones
Bruno Xavier
People here have a lot of opinions.
However, just-born babies absolutely NEED skin contact with their mothers for their very first ears of life.
This isn't opinion, this isn't social agenda; this is scientific fact backed by decades of research and data collected by psychologists, physiologists and neurologists.
Bruno Xavier
years fml
Toasted Heretic
And if the mother should tragically die during childbirth or pass away in the early days... if the mother isn't deemed fit to raise the child... a single dad or loving adoptive parents of any gender can do the job just fine.
It's kids who are born to unhappy or abusive relationships who suffer.
Bruno Xavier
Basing arguments on exceptions just reinforce the rule.
Those are exceptions, where collateral effects still surface when they're older, by definition such argument is void, meaningless.
Toasted Heretic
As is the agenda against single parents, adoptive parents, same sex parents that's being pushed here.
Where is the scientific data and decades of research, to support this stance?
Alexandre T. Ishii
I only think when a married new couple have problems in future, from the husband point of view, just to focus the relationship between his wife and her mother-in-law in confrontation. Most of the husbands have to obey their mothers and wives to bear the situation, what? It doesn't mean socially mature life style, is it?
mrtinjp
Oh, good grief! What a load of utter twoddle! This 'bond' you speak of may be apparent in the first two weeks or so, but it is not important. Once a baby reaches 2 or 3 months old they don't care where the milk comes from, as long as they get it. Women are quite able to express their breast milk and store it for any father to give to an infant
That bond is there for life, unless the mother has some condition, the baby should be on breast feed only for initial 6-8 months and this is very very important for the baby's normal growth and strong immune system.
Bubblegun
Burning BushToday 06:57 am JST
Human breastmilk is the healthiest possible nutrition for any infant, the suckling, including the skin to skin contact, also helps develop a deep and lasting emotional bond between mother and child.
Fathers just can't provide that and there's no one to blame for that except nature.
AgentXToday 01:52 pm JST
Not sure if that is a good example...
Well, the reason I mentioned the wet nurse in history is because the original poster wished to point out the "suckling, skin to skin contact, they Lasting Emotional Bond between "Biological" mother and child as a justification to support their idea that the fathers can't provide the same level of care or bonding. However it does not apply here, because the wet nurse is NOT the mother, biologically or emotionally, and so the mother isn't able to provide all the things the OP pointed out, and yet, the bond between the biological mother and the biological father is still there, and is no less. Therefore the original post over simplified their point of view.
theFritzX
He is correct. Not to say a stay at home father is a bad idea but in the first few years theres no doubt. Its plain biology/psychology.
Im definitely not saying women have to have babies and stay at home, but if they choose to have a baby its infinitely better for the child if the mother is doing the 'mothering'.
Hayden Kaye
Isn't this one step away from saying homosexuals don't have the right to raise children?
lucabrasi
...there is a leftist majority with a definite social agenda....
On the evidence of the previous hundred years or so, I’d say that’s true of the entire planet.
Good, innit?
theFritzX
Thanks for your input Bruno.
Luddite
Bang on.
Raw Beer
Yes, they certainly can, it is possible. But on average, a woman's personality (and skin) is more suited to raising toddlers.
RealCDN
Male father. Female mother. It's okay to be normal.
sf2k
scratch off another item the LDP have any knowledge of
kurisupisu
Politicians should keep subjective opinions which they have to themselves.....ie not for public consumption.
gelendestrasse
Hey, Hagiuda, I pack a very cool bento.