Japan ‘on verge of no longer functioning’ after birth rate plummets to record new low
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I'm sure artificially lowering female med student's grades to increase drop-outs amoung women will help with the financial stability and job security needed to raise a child!
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I am lucky enough to not have an English teaching job, and never have. But unless you are highly specialized, or somehow manage to start your own thing here, there seems to be limite scope as a foreigner to really have a strong career.
I am actually moving to Shiga Prefecture in a few days. It's going to be a big change from living on the outskirts of Tokyo for the past six years. Excited to see how my perception of life in Japan changes from the move.
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It has two actually, karoshi and karojisatsu, death from being overworked and suicide from being overworked. Etimologically speaking, that gives you some idea of how big the problem is, kind of like the old adage about eskimos or inuits having six words for "snow".
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Japans GDP has been almost flat since the mid 90s, they are not following the west's """infinite""" growth. Not that I'm saying capitalism isn't part of the problem, it absolutely is, just saying it isn't the entire story.
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Japanese are very against violence, and incidentally it's the safest first world country. And the work culture has been improving in the last decade or so - though not nearly fast enough.
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Had me in the first half lol
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Even without capitalism you need production, and children used to be part of that. Back then you would have as many kids as you could so that they could run your farm.
I'm not defending the current system, but profit isn't the only reason the birthrate is declining in so many countries.
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Japanese workers get more days off than American workers.
Japan 26
USA 10
Japanese on average don't work longer than Americans (2017)
#39 United States 1,765.00
#43 Japan 1,738.36
Don't get me wrong, they have a crazy work culture, but it's worse in the USA.
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I would hope it is obviously not a serious suggestion. But it does show a clear difference in modern society that might go some way to explaining current trends.
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And the farm would largely be to feed your own family. Not profit.
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I think it is a wonderful movie exactly because it is applicable everywhere.
Berlusconi was already walking that path in the early 2000s in Italy. -
Thing is, we don't really know what's the reason for the current worldwide trend in much, much lower natality rate. We've observed in rich countries and poor countries, religious and atheist countries, capitalist and communist countries (both USSR and PRC, who have had very different economic systems), in countries with no safety nets but also in countries with large social programs, in western countries, but also in eastern countries.
The only thing I can think of these days is education level. Is it possible that education is inversely correlated with natality rates? Or maybe women in the workforce. I'm not arguing for either point, I'm just thinking about what the cause of a world-wide issue might be, because it's happening everywhere and seemingly without any clear common cause.
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Why is their workplace harsh?
Is it conservative because old people outnumber the young people and have for so long? You give a dominant demographic enough influence over time, they'll try to make the rest of society like them. Old.
Also, is it so old because Japan has a really high life expectancy? Or has that been taken into account?
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Oh no, having to spend time with my family oh nooo /s
If rent weren't so damn high and you didn't have such a squeeze on every moment of your life to make as much money too survive, spending time and supporting each other efficiently maybe wouldn't be a problem.
Values are defined by our parents? Is it a caste system? Is extended family more or less efficient? What is the goal: sustainability, B R E E D I N G, vacations, wealth compared to others, power over others, power over ourselves? Etc....
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Is cancer really cancer if the rest of the body can adapt and grow faster than it? You describe capitalism as a finite system and then heavily imply that we’re near the outer boundary of that system or that all current and future resources are almost depleted.
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The fact that our planet's resources are finite is a matter of physics. Capitalism may come up with some innovation or another that adds more lifespan to it, the way that digital spaces and the financial industry have done, or it may have another global war that creates room for a new period of traditional growth at the cost of countless lives, but it will inevitably hit an insurmountable wall.
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There's also no support for women with children there, career wise
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People now realise that kids are a lot of hard work and fucking expensive.....and that yearly skiing holidays are fun.
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No you wouldn't, lol. You need your job for health care.
