Voices
in
Japan

quote of the day

This so-called 'mancession' is going to cause continuing problems for the marriage rate and birth rate. Many young Japanese men say they want to have a stable job before they consider marrying.

6 Comments

Mary Brinton, a sociology professor at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who has studied the lives of young Japanese men shut out of well-paid, full-time work. (Bloomberg)

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

6 Comments
Login to comment

Marriage is just one element of the problem. The future of the economy and the nation are at stake. The current economic model marginalizes everyone and does not bode well for the future of the country economically or otherwise.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

There is no well paid work for young people anywhere unless you are a doctor.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I wonder if the wording here is correct: "...who has studied the lives of young Japanese men shut out of well-paid, full-time work." The words "shut out" don't sound right. From what I have seen and experienced, they have to be "qualified" to get a "well-paid, full-time" job. It's just not that easy to walk in and get a well-paid, full-time job anywhere in this world.

Otherwise, I can see what Mary Brinton is getting at ... it's not easy in this economic climate to get a good job and to keep it, thus Japanese men fear getting married and starting a family due to the unsteady state of the overall economy.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Probably money issues are the biggest root cause of divorce in America. At least Japanese men (for the most part) understand a stable income is one of the pillars to a stable marriage. America is turning into a country of "single mothers" which leads to lost opportunities for these children due to limited financial means to obtain a good education and the guidance from a stable, two-parent household...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Shame the women don't help matters. By refusing to work ft after marriage and kids. Would certainly take some stress off. Why anyone would want to get married to someone with such a mindset is beyond me.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Edojin - By "qualified" I take it you mean "went to the "right" university and has a face that "fits"". I'm not sure the western definition of qualified is valid here. Recently one of the mid-level managers where I work was promoted despite being universally regarded as useless; why? because a female sub-ordinate was promoted, and face must be saved; qualifications and the ability to do a job well aren't often taken into consideration in Japan.

I don't think this is a problem exclusive to Japan, though I can see it could be viewed as a big problem here when you take into account how much raising a kid and sending them to the "best" schools/juku/eikaiwa/university can add up to (and that's before other family related expenses). It's certainly one of the reasons why i am still childless, and I'm approaching 40.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites