[Netherrealmer]

Does anyone know why the people of Japan are having less children?

the cost of living in Japan is very expensive, and jobs in Japan are very long. As in, you will be overworked. So, a lot of men and women do not want to have kids anymore because they don't have time for it. Another one is, a lot of guys have a hard time to find a wife because women develop a high standard of men. So a lot of men gave up on finding a girlfriend or a wife. They will just, you know, buy those dating sim video games or they will buy those waifu pillows. You have to Google waifu pillows so you know what they are. While other men are, you know, just spending their money to attend concerts of girl bands or idols. Yes, a lot of men right now go to concerts of girl bands and simp on those girls and spend all their money for those girls rather than trying to find a wife and get married.Also a lot of married people rather have a miniature dog or a cat than have children.

[bestwriter]

This trend not to have children is spreading Even Indian youngsters stay away from marriage and this is the reason for the population to go down and then there are ways for married people to opt for wanting no kids DINKS as they are called Double Income No Kids

[Pousinha]

But if there are millions of Japanese people, it's practically a miracle they could fit into that tiny country they have. To me, it's just another excuse for the government to steal, as always. No matter how many taxes they impose, if people don't want children, they won't have them. Besides, like I said, it's not like they're going to become extinct in a few years; there are millions of them. Honestly, that idea is disgusting. To me, it's just another stupid excuse for the government to steal, nothing more than that.

If such a curious tax had been created in a southern European country, I'd state it should be the umpteenth shameful excuse to steal. No doubt. But talking about Japan, until I know, the government of this country is not shamefully corrupted as here and there in south Europe. As confirmed by the result of your research in the 21st of January. I watched videos about Japan, where the mishap is explained: the pretty impracticability to find a marriage partner affecting Japanese women. Some Japanese women become so desperate to marry at the point they solve the mishap witha ceremony where...they marry with themselves . Yes, it looks like eccentric, bizarre and extravagant (and it is: in any way, it looks like in Japan is possible that one can marry with herself ). All my concern towards Japanese women, as dispair can lead through hell and back. So I easily can image the Japanese government wants to overturn the just explained bizarre trend.

Does anyone know why the people of Japan are having less children?

Yes, @Fergal, as explained above, it looks like Japanese men lost the will to marry... if you search on YouTube Japanese woman marries with herself, you'll find interesting things about (only hoping the video hasn't been deleted or not available in English -I had found the video in Spanish, if I remember well-).

[Netherrealmer]

This is a waifu pillow. It's a pillow many Japanese men rather have than a girlfriend. And it has high sales in Japan.


And now, women also have what they call husbando pillows.

[mrki444]

I could offer a service to rich girls. I will marry you without any other obligations for small fee and they will avoid pay tax.

[OldGuy]

Does anyone know why the people of Japan are having less children?

This is a world wide issue, not just for Japan.

https://www.pgpf.org/article/the-ratio- ... e-further/

The overall world wide population has been slowing in every country as fewer and fewer babies are born. This particular article is specifically about the US Social Security program and clearly shows why the slowing population growth is a devastating problem for the aging population without a large enough birth rate to fund future retirement as people age.

As of 2024, the cost of funding the US Social Security Retirement System has exceeded the revenue from those who are contributing to the fund. The gap is widening every year due to low birth rates. At current rates, the entire fund is projected to run dry by 2034. That is just 8 years from now.

Check your age right now and add 8 years. If you are not going to reach retirement age by then, you may not be able to receive anything. If you have not created your own retirement fund long before that, you will be flat broke with no means of support.

Key here is that we need a lot more kids reaching employment age before that to continue funding the retirement System in every country world wide.

For your own future financial protection, go get screwed now and do your part to increase the birth rate so you can still collect a retirement fund when you get here. Get screwed now or you will be screwed then. Fur babies will not contribute to your retirement funding needs.

Copied from a posted AI article about World Birth Rate Decline:
World Birth Rate Decline
The global birth rate has been on a steady decline since the 1960s, with the average number of births per woman dropping from 5.3 in 1963 to 2.2 in 2023. This decline is attributed to a combination of cultural shifts, financial challenges, and the aftermath of the 2008 crash. The World Bank's data indicates that the global fertility rate has fluctuated throughout the decades, rising to 5.3 in 1963, but has been on a steady decline since. The replacement level necessary to maintain population levels without immigration in developed countries is generally considered to be 2.1. The birth rate decline is a complex topic with no single cause but major cultural shifts and financial challenges in the aftermath of the 2008 crash are usually cited as major factors.
Newsweek

In the United States, the total fertility rate has generally declined over the past two decades, with the federal government assessing ways to increase the nation’s birth rate. The total fertility rate in the U.S. stands at 1.6 live births per woman in 2025, according to UN estimates. The UN projects the U.S. fertility rate will remain roughly stable through the end of the century.
Pew Research Center

The decline in fertility rates has significant implications for population stability and economic growth. By 2100, the UN projects that fertility rates will decline from 4.0 to 2.0 in Africa; from 2.1 to 1.7 in Oceania; from 1.9 to 1.7 in Asia; and from 1.8 to 1.6 in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, fertility rates are expected to remain steady in Northern America and increase slightly in Europe by the end of the century.
Pew Research Center

The Lancet's study presents estimates from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021, which indicates that by 2100, more than 97% of countries and territories will have fertility rates below what is necessary to sustain population size over time. This demographic shift will have enormous consequences for economies and societies, according to the study.
American Society for Reproductive Medicine - ASRM

All of that is why governments are pushing people to have more children. It is not just Japan, Korea or even the US. It is worldwide.

[Netherrealmer]

Russia's solution to increase children is to turn off the electricity and internet of childless married couples so they will be forced to have sex.

[Pousinha]

Russia's solution to increase children is to turn off the electricity and internet of childless married couples so they will be forced to have sex.

Well...since my childhood, I have listened that lack of TV is the main motivator to sex, but, sincerely, I can't believe it . A simple domestic appliance can't determine such a decision. No TV? There is sport practicing, reading, arts and crafts...etc., etc., etc...

[Netherrealmer]

Governor from South Korea said that he wants to import brides from Sri Lanka and Vietnam to populate their dying city because apparently women are leaving, leaving men with, you know, no bride to marry because women are going to the big cities. So he thinks that the solution is importing brides from Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

[Fergal]

to populate their dying city because apparently women are leaving

Why are the women leaving, is it to find employment or something else?

[Netherrealmer]

Why are the women leaving, is it to find employment or something else?

First, employment. Second, they don't want to marry a farmer or a ranch hand or a guy that works on the fields.

[draco010101]

That’s a drastic measure, highlighting how serious Japan is about addressing population decline. It will be interesting to see whether financial incentives and penalties actually influence people’s decisions about marriage and having children.

[Pousinha]

Why are the women leaving, is it to find employment or something else?

First, employment. Second, they don't want to marry a farmer or a ranch hand or a guy that works on the fields.

I don't know many things about Japan. If it were in south Europe or Latin and Central America, I would say Japanese women aren't eager to marry a farmer (when the farmer is simply a labourer and not the owner of the land) cause the social consequences. Unfortunately, in the mentioned geographic areas, a labourer (especially in the fields) isn't respected in the society at all (and what to expect from a society like here and there in my former country that is used to despise even the teachers from kindergarten to high school despite they are graduated?). If it happens the same in Japan (but I hope not: I hope in Japan to be better than that), I imagine Japanese women fearing such a social consequence.

[Fergal]

Netherrealmer congratulations on posting a Topic of the Week on ForumCoin, sending ForumCoin now.

[kataomoi]

I used to teach English in Japan, and you would be surprised at my how many students answered "I want to be a farmer" when I asked them "What is your dream job?" Japan has a lot of farm land, and being a farmer is not a shame or a bad job. Farmers are respected and an active part of the community. Young children in schools have frequent field trips to farms to plant rice or grow potatoes. My fifth graders planted potatoes and when they were in sixth grade, those potatoes were used to make potato dishes for school lunch for the whole school to enjoy. It was a learning experience for them, and most of them were very proud of it. Maybe a small population of people living in the city in Tokyo, Kyoto, or Osaka look down on farmers, but most of the country isn't like that.

And it's not that women are "picky" about men; it's actually the other way around. Like most Asian countries, boys are brought up thinking that they should be the breadwinner for their family. They want their wife to stay home and care for them, do housework, have and watch the children. They expect them to quit their job if they are unable to handle housework/childcare alongside their job. That doesn't work with today's society because women no longer believe that they should handle those things. Men don't want their wives working, and women don't want to quit their jobs just to stay home. As a result, people stopped dating or getting married -- because they believe that being single allows them the freedom to do what they actually enjoy. Until Japan changes their mentality on gender roles, this will always be an issue for them. The government enforcing a tax for single people won't make people want to get married because they don't want to give up the freedom.

If Japan wants people to start having babies again, they need to change their way of thinking and start educating the next generation that way. Teach boys that girls don't have to just be housewives after marriage. Teach them that sex isn't shameful. Teach them that marriage isn't a burden. Decrease work hours. If Japan doesn't change first, their people will never change.

[cmoneyspinner]

UUmm ... Elon Musk doesn't live there.

I've heard a lot of Asian countries - China and South Korea included don't want to have kids.

AI says Japan’s low birth rate isn’t about people “not wanting kids” in a simple sense. It’s the result of economic pressures, social norms, work culture, and demographic patterns that make having children feel difficult or unrealistic for many.

Japan has introduced childcare subsidies, free preschool, and generous parental leave on paper. Tokyo has even launched an AI‑based matchmaking program to encourage marriage. But these efforts have not reversed the trend.

**This is me. Not AI.
Frankly, as long as we elect presidents like Trump along with his lackeys who go along with everything he says and does ... Americans should stop having kids too! Trump and his cronies think that if they outlaw abortion, at least babies will be born. However, unlike Japan, they don't offer any incentives or encouragement to have children.

My time is over. I can't have any more children. But I think Americans should stop having kids. You don't always have to protest by going out in the streets.

[augusta]

That’s a drastic measure, highlighting how serious Japan is about addressing population decline. It will be interesting to see whether financial incentives and penalties actually influence people’s decisions about marriage and having children.

Yeah this is a drastic one. It is like a forced thing. Marriage is no jokes hope they would not get in for the wrong reasons

[cmoneyspinner]

FORCING MARRIAGE IS WRONG! morally, ethically, and legally.
Some things are made "legal," but they're still WRONG! This is one of those "things".

I have sons and daughters who are unmarried. Why should they be FORCED into a relationship? Give me a good reason WHY.

You know what. If it were me, I'd just pay the tax. I consider it the "cost of my freedom". They always FREEDOM HAS NEVER BEEN FREE!

[kataomoi]

You know what. If it were me, I'd just pay the tax. I consider it the "cost of my freedom". They always FREEDOM HAS NEVER BEEN FREE!

Most people in Japan will do the same. The tax is annoying but no one is getting married to avoid it because the cost of being tied down is worse. The Japanese government is wrong if they think this will work and improve birth rates.

[mrki444]

In Croatia we have same situation. Less and less babys born plus emigration in rich countrys.
I am one of the who don't have children. Me and my girlfriend still didn't talk about it but I am afraid have children.
I work in school and see from first hand how hard is today being a parent. Kids are in much bigger danger than before. Pressure on kid and parents is to big. Stay healthy, beautiful and have kids. Don't be stressed, both have job, travel. All this is not possible doing at same time. We barely can afford a apartment without rent and we should think about kids? Sorry but you excpecting to much.