Japan adopts ‘new dimension’ steps to buoy sagging birthrate

11 comments

1. Or so they **say**… I’ve seen no **concrete details of ANYTHING** which would imply they actually intend to do anything except say they will do things to address the problem.

2. This will probably accomplish almost nothing. Its not just a financial problem, but a societal one. The ridiculous amount of overtime needs to be reduced so people actually have time to meet, date, and get married. Salaries need to be increased, maternity leave needs more protections such as an actual fair chance to get back to work full time after taking leave. Day care probably needs to be made completely free, not from 3 years old but from 0. I think its just a multi-faceted issue and throwing more money at it isn’t going to change much.

3. It’s not a cost problem (I mean it is that too but it’s not the main reason), daycare needs to be free and they should be talking coverage like it’s broadband, “90 percent of the population should have access to childcare within a 10 minute walk from their home”, if I get 3 children under the age of Elementary school and I need to go to three different places to pick them up… That’s not happening.

   But the most ridiculous thing is that childcare needs are measured by looking at the parents. If a parent is at home they don’t qualify for childcare iirc. So when you get your second child, the first one has to come home, just the one baby is tough enough. So if you don’t have a job you can’t have childcare, so good luck finding a job too. No.

   Childcare should be the right of the individual baby, not the parent. Just like school.

4. Main issue is the availability of day care. My coworker needed to wait 3 months before there is an empty spot sounds really crazy to me.

   They might think twice for second child due to this.

5. “This bucket’s leaking water!”

   “Just pour more water in.”

   It’s not just about money. It’s about time. And quality time at that. It’s about facilities too. Our local authority has thrown all its money into geriatric facilities, meaning there’s virtually nothing locally for children. (Despite being a fairly rural area, there isn’t a single park or play area, for example, because parks don’t repay the financial investment.)

6. Watched a news segment this morning: Japan to increase spending on people who want to have families. However it’s not clear where the money will come from. FFs.

7. I don’t think the issue is encouraging families to have a third child. The biggest hurdle is making it possible for people to date and actually have enough time and money to start a family. But they don’t care enough to make that happen, money for the current aging population comes first.

8. It also has to do with women’s rights. Lots of women don’t want to get married or have kids because many are expected to leave work if they do. It’s hard to pursue a career in that sense and become financially independent. Not to mention the domestic labor and the fact that Japanese men barely help around the house. Many women in Japan don’t want to sacrifice their freedoms anymore, and don’t even bother dating let alone get married. Gender inequality is huge in Japan.

9. Having kids these days is becoming less desirable even if you fix access to childcare and give people more flexibility with work etc. Personally speaking we’re definitely in a position to financially and logistically have kids but just like… don’t really want them right now. And that’s not a problem that Japan or any first world country can easily fix.

10. These types of things are good for the people who already want kids. They likely do not make people want to have kids. I suppose it’s better than nothing. These initiatives are ridiculous as they don’t address anything other than economical concerns. And they barely do that.

11. Literally the entire 1st world has its head up its ass on this issue:

    ***POOR PPL HAVE MORE BABIES THAN MIDDLE CLASS PPL DO. THIS IS NOT A FINANCIAL ISSUE AND FINANCIAL ADJUSTMENTS WILL NOT IMPACT THE ISSUE WHATSOEVER.***

    The problem is very very simple: Japanese culture doesn’t encourage marriage & family values.