“Does anyone know why Japan has suddenly stopped reproducing?”
Back in the early 90s, when Japan looked like they would take over the world (much less the US) economically, Rush simply suggested that we export Liberalism to them.
We did, and they have now paid the price for a generation. Even 20 years ago Japanese women knew that their job was to stay home and raise the next generation...now they all work and want nothing to do with the beasts that they used to refer to as husbands.
Well, that might be a part of it. But I don’t think it is even a large contributing factor.
When I was sent to Japan on business, I spent a couple days out and about, getting out of the hotel where we were having all the meetings and seeing Tokyo. What I saw was very interesting.
First, there seemed to be quite a few young men who were completely oblivious to women and girls around them. Had no interest. They were completely focused on the nerdy stuff they were doing with computers, phones, etc.
Second, the cost of living is pretty high. You have to have a pretty good job to have a wife with children at home, and our hosts explained to us that after 1992 or thereabouts, salaries and job wage growth really started to go downhill... and even back in the late 90’s, the older men were worried whether young men would start putting off getting married and having families because the economic situation was getting pretty shaky.
In recent reading of the Japanese economic situation, I think you’re wrong on the issue of women not wanting husbands and or children. I see now quite frequent mentions of “herbivore men” who have no interest in women or sex (with anyone) and who are living with their parents into their late 20’s and 30’s, because their jobs don’t pay enough to break out on their own. These guys just show little interest, if any, in women or dating - which is sort of a pre-requisite for marriage and childbearing, yea?
People in the US better start paying attention to the economic situation in Japan. It’s not good, and in the next three to five years, it’s about to get worse. A lot worse. And it will have ramifications for the US as well.
>>”Rush simply suggested that we export Liberalism to them”
From the link — “To secure the rural vote, the Liberal Democratic Party, which held power almost continuously from 1955 until 2009, devoted huge amounts of the state’s budget to infrastructure projects that were intended to revitalize the hinterland. But the revitalization never occurred. Towns were left with deserted train stations, empty hot-spring resorts and extraordinary levels of debt.”
Well, the article certainly has the wrong prescription. More government spending will neither help the economy nor encourage people to have more children. Why have kids just to stick them in government day care centers?
Also, Europe is dying, too. I don’t know what the NYT writers are smoking that they call Sweden a success story. Have you noticed that most of the people having children these days are people with a religious faith? I’m sure the writers at the Times wouldn’t even consider that to be a factor.