As someone who has always heard how nice Japanese people are, I'm surprised they hate kids that much.

They are courteous and very respectful. It's built into the culture and even their language. One simple sentence like hello, how are you have multiple ways of saying it depending on who you're addressing. Addressing incorrectly is very disrespectful. So the culture overly respectful.

Isn't Tokyo to be one of the most affordable major, developed cities in the world? The article suggests that Japanese homes are exceptionally expensive.

All people are wired to 'hate' outsiders. Countries are forced to open up in order to keep economic growth going. The US needs to import people in order to keep the growth going on. The same with Western Europe. Japan basically took the economic stagnation and said no to opening itself up. I wonder whether that was mostly a top-down sort of decision or not.

Fertility rates say "maybe not"

This is just fucking dumb

In Japan, productivity is decreasing. So now the cycle goes in reverse, either find more labor or make do with less stuff than before.

After all this you still love Japan and Japanese people?

The tradition in japan is to level a house and build a new one. It was explained to me that very few have multigenerational single family dwellings. This would increase cost.

What if the population is stabilizing? Unlimited growth is death. Anyone who thinks differently hasn't looked at how life works. That a population that undergoes a huge increase crashes due to starvation and disease. This is observable from bacteria to humans. It could be Japan is entering a stable period where needs and resources are predictable and known. Sounds like a higher standard of living to me. The downside is the huge geriatric population will need more and more resources until that situation becomes part of the new stable norm.

Stagnant is how a capitalist mindset sees it. They can't stand that since their scam depends on unlimited growth. So of course any take on this from the stand point of greed would think its a terrible thing for a population to shrink to fit its resources not keep growing to allow ever increasing profits.

Yes absolutely. The Japanese has a heavy influence in Taiwan culture. They ruled Taiwan for 50 years. My grandparents only spoke Japanese and Taiwanese when I was growing up here.

That is why there is so much love for the Japanese people. Our cultures are pretty aligned.

What we different is how we view kids in society. In Taiwan, when my wife was visably pregnant, people from all walks of life would give up their seat for her. Even before she was visably pregnant, the government gives you a ribbon to wear and people will let you go first on an elevator and congratulate you.

The government has designated parking spots(marked in pink lines) specifically for pregnant and anyone with kids 6 and under. All larger malls are required to have a clean breastfeeding/pumping room with some malls going the extra mile and having free childcare while you pump.

The people in Taiwan view children as everyone children and everyone has an obligation to bare that burden.

While there are major upsides, the downsides is that people have opinions on how to parent your kids with some parenting for you.

I was in Kaohsiung at a beach and my 3 year old son was taking a stick and hitting it against rocks and the sand. A bunch of grandma's felt it was too unsafe for my son to be walking around with a stick in his hand and took it out of my kid's hands and told me that my kid could lose an eye. I know the gesture comes from a good place, but man. Mind your own business.

I'm not disagreeing, just saying China isn't the only country with worse working conditions than the US. From a global perspective things are actually pretty good in the US.

Known I am a bit obtuse, or perhaps litteral, but I am Norwegian and have more words for snow. Think English have more words for snow. Think texture.
Powder, sleet, sugary, slush, crusty, hoar, rime.

Jokes on you, I don't have healthcare.

The other groups largely voted with evangelicals to make our country a fascist nation about 60 40. They don't deserve as a group to be considered distinct

They don't deserve to be associated with jesus, what's your point?

Fertility rates are low because people don't have enough time to raise kids they're too busy working 80 hours a week

If Catholics, Evangelicals, etc etc etc all don't deserve to be associated with Jesus who does again?

I think Jesus says it:

I Never Knew You

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

The downside is the huge geriatric population will need more and more resources until that situation becomes part of the new stable norm.

That exactly is the problem. When half the population is too old to work, who's going to be providing for them all? Someone still needs to produce stuff.

It could be Japan is entering a stable period where needs and resources are predictable and known. Sounds like a higher standard of living to me.

Good luck predicting human needs and behaviour.