Forum - View topicAnswerman - Why Is Japan's Population Declining?
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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Eden of the East was heavily informed by the diminishing return of the corporate climb for younger generations; the female lead doesn't burst into tears in that one episode just because that guy spilled food on her suit. I was pretty surprised at how popular that was in the West given its interest in current Japanese social issues. I was lucky I even understood what it was getting at and I bet there was plenty I missed. |
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relyat08
 Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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I feel like this is touched on in dozens of anime. Not sure how you could miss them all.
My simplistic solution to this whole issue would be to give substantial tax breaks for every child a couple has and facilitate better and more cost effective child care options. One thing I see cited by many Japanese as a reason that they haven't had any children is a lack of time, and the need to make more money. If some of those issues are alleviated, it could definitely help. Encourage people to procreate. There is very little incentive to do so, on a personal level, right now. In 20 years, if there is still this level of population decline in Japan, I can see it having a much more obvious effect on the young adults who are putting off procreation right now, but as of now, there is no reason to prioritize that when you can just work and spend money on yourself, and your interests. |
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4650 |
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I think the most alarming statistic about this overall issue is the staggering percentage of young Japanese adults who not only aren't in relationships, but state that they have no interest in having sex. Like, something has to have gone seriously wrong with your basic societal order to kill off the most fundamental biological urge of the species. Even in most first-world countries with (not as precipitously) declining birthrates, people are still (presumably) doing plenty of boinking, just in the non-procreative sense.
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Dextres
 Posts: 428 Location: Decatur, GA |
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This is really douche coming from me but; In the end those games are scripted and fiction. Anything that seems like comforting is backstories/illusions/fantasies to self insert into. It's different regarding real fresh and blood human interactions, relationships(sexual and non sexual) with people and sex. Although, you are right that no one should be force to give up a hobby they love just for a men or women. |
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Hoppy800
 Posts: 3331 |
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It's been mentioned on this site before, that kind of practice is some of the most backwards dogcrap I've heard in my life. You don't hear that from any other country. |
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Satoshi Batista
Posts: 13 |
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There was a really good book called Out by an author named Natsuo Kirino. One of the subplots is about a young man of mixed Japanese and Afro-Brazilian descent who goes to Japan to see his father's homeland. He grew up with his father instilling a sense of Japanese pride in him and telling him how great Japan is, but as soon as he gets there he finds that pretty much everyone treats him like they would any other foreigner. The fact that he's ethnically of Japanese descent is completely irrelevant since in the eyes of most people, he's still not Japanese enough. Last edited by Satoshi Batista on Mon Oct 17, 2016 4:39 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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Kids cost of lot of money. Wages have mostly stagnated and haven't even kept up with inflation. Whereas the cost of living, especially in Tokyo, just keeps rising.
Of course, that's not just Japan. That's also in the United States where the current generation is to be first generation to earn less than their parents. |
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NearEasternerJ1
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As I said before, Japan may need to be like the UK and undergo a demographic and cultural change. What it means to be "Japanese" cannot be simply about heritage and belonging to a nation state of vaguely defined East Asians.
People who oppose multiculturalism use Europe as an example, but Sweden and Norway are doing perfectly fine. It's just that Fox News and the right-wing EU media exaggerate Muslim behaviour. Most crime comes from natives. Even in the USA, which claims to be a culturally homogenous country, yet is highly diverse. Immigrants in NYC, LA and Miami don't melt into a pot, but they are part of the salad bowl and it does work! Foreigners do better than native Americans. Whilst we have debates about America's role or lack thereof in bringing prosperity for "African-Americans", actual African-Americans are the most educated group in America. Besides, some argue that immigration into Britain was a way for Britain to pay for what it done to the world. Japan should accept immigration from Asia to show that it has repented for its own sins. |
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Mohawk52
 Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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Historically Japan has always been insular and self imposed isolation for several Centuries. apart from the Chineses invasions many Japanese simply didn't know there was a world on the other side of the distant horizons. Though just a few weeks ago in an archeological dig on the island of Okinawa 10 Roman coins were dug up proving that there was at least some foreign exchange involved with Japan even back then. However for many Centuries up until Commadore Parry's forceful lifting of their rock, no one was allowed to leave the islands and anyone who did were never allowed back in under penalty of death whilst any foreign influence was brutally exterminated as corruption.
Last edited by Mohawk52 on Mon Oct 17, 2016 4:55 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Seishin Jinrou
 Posts: 29 |
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Declining population is GOOD. The human population tripled in the 20th century to our now unsustainable levels, so all countries should be encouraging such numbers. Endless economic growth is cancer; we can have economic justice, environmental sustainability, and human progress with smaller populations.
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Mohawk52
Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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NearEasternerJ1
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So I take it you're a green? Read up on Stiglitz and his views on economic growth's impact on the environment. |
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H. Guderian
Posts: 1255 |
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Declining population isn't good if only you're doing it.
If Japan's population drops like a rock, wouldn't it be that much easier for an outside power to push their way in? We should look to stabilize population sizes, and not celebrate the fact one group could be wiped out while others are ballooning. is it no wonder the first thing Hitler wanted to do was make more babies? More bodies wins every conflict. |
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Aphasial
Exempt from Grammar Rules
Posts: 122 Location: San Diego, CA |
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The future belongs to those who show up. |
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Morry
Posts: 756 |
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But then those reverse imports will affect the 60% of the industry funded by Japanese otaku! //sarcasm There have been a few series over the last few years trying to appeal to American and/or Chinese audiences. The problem is those series don't catch on or don't meet expectations when they do. I also don't think there are many Japanese manga/light novel authors that have American/Chinese sensibilities in-mind so it's hard to infuse that into adaptions of their work, assuming the production team understands those sentiments themselves. |
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