Desiree Lingmark comments

Fossil fuels should have been outlawed years ago and countries still using it heavily sanctioned. I know it sounds extreme but the option has always been, simply put, death. We chose and keep choosing death.

Unbelievably as I find it, judging from everyone's comments it appears to be necessary to explain; womens liberation and women working is not the problem. Traditional gender roles and men not sharing the load of housework and child raising is.

As it is, women with families are doing 2x fulltime work, one at the office paid, one at home unpaid. As long as this doesn't change and Japan allows men to be equal husbands and fathers as well as employees, no increased birth rate.

Yes, capital punishment is barbaric. Yes, Japan should ban it right away. No, comparing Japan to other countries does not provide any absolution.

Well, it's their restaurant so if the want to impose their values on their customers that's their right, but personally that's not what I pay for, and I won't be eating there for sure.

Why the focus on the Japanese government? Sure they commited a number of atrocities, but that's another discussion.

This specific event was a war crime commited by the US and the Allies, simple as that.

There are no good or bad sides in war in the sense that it brings out the worst in all, and sooner or later everyone commits atrocities, albeight to varying degree.

One could rightfully argue that the Japanese government did far worse things than the Allies all in all, but that is not the topic discussed here.

Geez Japan get with the times!

As for ppl arguing against LGBT-rights why don't take a look at all the countries allowing gay marriage and all. Have the things you feared come to pass there?

Nope. People are still getting married. Heterosexuality is equally as dominant as before. The children are fine. Because giving a marginalized group the same rights as the majority doesn't affect the majority the slightest, except that a more open and tolerant society is better for everyone.

As for all the trans-hatred in Japan I'm completely baffled though. Like wow, where does it even come from? Have someone transgender personal offended you? How on earth is someone's choice of their own sex affecting you? As for it being impossible/unnatural/whatever, you know that sex change occurs in nature in all kinds of species right? You know that, right?

And for goodness sake stop dragging kids into the conversation. They are not going to get mutilated, they are not going to harmed in any way; the whole "It's dangerous for our kids"-argument had been propped up against everything from women entering the work force to anime and video games. Not true then and not true now, just give the hate a rest already.

I mean I'll take it it's better than 0 but like everyone else has pointed out this is NOT gonna be a factor in people deciding to have kids or not.

80000 yen cover pretty much exactly one month of expenses for our kid (kindergarden, food, diapers etc).

What WOULD work is...

Include childbirth and everything related in the god damn health insurance. Or make it free.

For sure don't charge 200000 yen extra for stuff like nipt testing or epidural during birth (side note: I just find that one especially barbaric. Like what other medial procedure would charge extra for anasthesia?? Pulling a tooth? Operations? No!)

Make child care/kinder garden cheap or free. This would be especially great for the country as one person wouldn't have to be a housewife/husband for years, but could rather support society.

Payed leave for at least a year not tied to companies.

Punish companies that tries to make it hard to take about leave.

Make school and uni free.

I'm from a northern european country and we did all above like 40 years ago. Me not going back home but rather deciding to have kids in Japan instead is literal economic suicide in comparison.

Sad story. Abortion might have been the best in this case but considering it costs between 10-20 0000 yen here and you need permission from the father, maybe this was just not a viable option for her.

Why would a woman, want to be part of woman hating party

Possibly to, I dunno... Make it less woman hating?

Love them! Sentos must be protected at all costs!

This is man is absolutely amazing and worth all respect.

But putting his feat aside, the fact that Japanese society as a whole depicts it as a good and admirable thing not to have taken a single vacation for 50 years is really unhealthy and damaging.

If you care about maintaing the imperial family it seems obvious to me you have to open up for maternal linage, in the same way that if you care about the Japanese people not dying out, you have to make it easier for Japanese women to have children. It's about self preservation at this point, really.

But even when I try to think of it from the opposite viewpoint I still don't really get it.

I'm assuming purity is the thing, you want your emperor's to be as directly descended from the original as possible right (which,/ by the way, wasn't that a woman such as in the goddess Amaterasu?) Then why would you water down the blood again and again by diverting from the direct descenting linage by going through other relatives rather than having a female empress one in a while and thus keep the line pure?

I mean it wouldn't be the first time, Japan has had female rulers in the past so...?

Tried it but not my cup of tea. Tasted like eating frozen sweet butter. But yes, if you like butter you will enjoy it.

If it happens, let's name it after the IOC.

How to solve this problem is in no way a mystery.

It's just basically impossible since no one is willing to make the necessary sacrifices, despite not doing so means dooming the country.

There are pretty much 2 options. (Could be 3 if you count on technology, that robots could fill in the gaps, but since I think it unlikely I will leave it for now)

Make use of immigration like almost all other developed countries. Almost all western democracies have falling birthrates. We solve it with immigration.

Immigration has it's obvious downsides but there simply is not much choice. Of course this is never going to happen here though so let's move on to...

Make it easier for Japanese to have babies.

*make all medical costs and tests related to childbirth free, or at least make it part of the health insurance. Shockingly, as of now it's not.

All in all stop viewing "women's problems" as women's problems, because they're not, they are the country's problems.

*Make a variety of pain relief options the norm for giving birth, not the exception.

*Make at least one year paternity leave mandatory, split 50/50 between both parents.

*Eliminate the destructive work culture, force companies to let people take vacation, enforce laws against overtime and weekend work.

*Stop consider the mother to be solely responsible for child, home and a working marriage.

*Shared custody as norm in case of divorce.

*Make adoption easier, also from other countries. Eliminate old fashion rules about who inherits family names.

*Stop assuming people should get married, make it socially acceptable to have children on your own, provide financial support for it.

*Make infertility treatment free regardless of age.

*encourage interactions between sexes from a young age. 

*make child care free and easily available regardless of where you live.

*make all tuition free including university.

Severely limit the cost of private schools.

Sure I missed a couple, but hopefully that should do it... All these changes should have been done yesterday but at least now would be better than tomorrow.

Reading these comments are so depressing, like traveling back 20 years in time. It should't even need to be said but: Trans women are women. Trans men are men.

But even though there are setbacks for sure, the world is moving forward without your dinosaur views, and there is comfort in that.

Omg just pay them the money Japan. Court decision or no do the decent thing.