Mzdi8jc5 comments

It is well known that as a country the greater it becomes facilitated with education, the living standrads (sic) are raised, and women are given equal opportunity, birthrates drop. THAT trend doesnt (sic) change no matter which country.

@illsayit I'm afraid your views match the common misconception regarding this matter; empirical evidence contradicts this entirely.

"if female labor participation rates are plotted against birth rates for various countries, there is a distinctly positive—not negative—correlation between the two, meaning that countries with higher labor participation rates such as Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the UK, tend to have higher fertility rates and vice versa" (Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research , 2014, pp.26-27)

There are other factors to consider such as provision of childcare, which this paper outlines, however it is incorrect to make a sweeping statement as you did is.

http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/outlook/womenomics4-folder/womenomics4-time-to-walk-the-talk.pdf

@JeffLee

I ain't feeling them.

Just wait until the first set of baby-boomers retire and increase healthcare costs even further. Do you seriously believe there will be no impact from dwindling tax payments from an ever-declining labor force?

I agree that bigger is not always better, small is okay when there is the means to at least self-sustain. However, the ensuing demographic imbalance between the working population and those that will rely on governmental paid resources is frightening.

It is clear that the frightfully low fertility rate is Japan's key issue for it's long-term sustainability.

Japan’s female employment rate ranks amongst the lowest in the developed world at 60 per cent, well below other developed countries such as Norway at 75 per cent, the US at 66 per cent, and Germany at 64 per cent.

Contrary to widespread belief, there is a distinctly positive—not negative—correlation between levels of female employment and fertility rates. Countries with relatively high labor participation rates such as Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the UK, tend to have relatively high fertility rates and vice versa.

This key demographic should be taken advantage of economically through encouraged participation in employment and thus a subsequent increase in spending power, tax payments, and the desired increase in fertility rates. The biggest obstacle to this is an insufficient supply of affordable daycare, nursing care, and housekeeping services; key to a nation where the typical Japanese father spends very little time assisting with household chores and child-rearing at home.

Key source: http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/investing-in-women/bios-pdfs/womenomics3_the_time_is_now_pdf.pdf