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JAPAN: Wooing Women as Birth Rates Drop
By Suvendrini Kakuchi
TOKYO, Jan 10, 2006 (IPS) - Gender equality has been a distant dream in Japan
but a drastic national population decline is forcing the government to
take steps to help women - if only to encourage them to have more
children.
''The yellow signal has started flickering,'' said health minister Jiro
Kawasaki, late December, referring to the low birth rate and the
consequent threat to the national economy.
The government now acknowledges that the consequences of declining
birth rates -1.29 per woman- can be addressed partly by increasing
jobs for women and expanding the retirement age to 70 years from the
current 65 years.
But women remain cautious. ‘'It is great to hear the government saying
women must be supported to increase the population. But there is a lot
more to do before women really decide Japan has the right environment to
have children,'' says Yuko Ashino, a reproduction expert and former
head of the Japan Family Planning Institute.
She says Japanese women are not having children because they are anxious
and worried about the future and are disappointed that the government
does not do more.
Japan spends less than two percent of its GDP on support for child-
rearing compared, for example, to Britain that has a figure of more than
2.5 percent.
''Women need an environment where they can start a family and keep
working without facing a heavy financial burden. They also do not want
to shoulder the social responsibility of taking care of the children.
But the government has not told us yet how exactly women can ease these
burdens,'' she explained.
Indeed, experts point out, declining birth rates have long been a nagging
problem for the government that has tried various programmes during the
past decade and failed.
For example, the health ministry advocated two ‘Angel Plans' where
government budgets expanded the number of nurseries for working mothers
during the nineties to more than 24,000 across the country.
But to no avail. Japan's current population of 128 million is expected to
drop to 100 million in 2050 if nothing in a business as usual scenario.
Today, according to reports released by the National Institute of
Population and Social Security last month, Japan's birth rate is
declining extremely fast, compared to that in the United States and
Europe and identified young people as not having children because they
cannot afford to get married or because of heavy education costs.
Data released by the institute indicate that almost 70 percent of women
raising children want more financial support for education. The number of
couples who got married in 2005 was 713,000- the fourth year in
decline.
Sumiko Shimizu, former legislator and now member of a working panel of
women advocating for gender equality, identifies the latest figures to a
gap between expectations by the government and changes in women's
lifestyles which she says is at the core of Japan's population decrease.
"Younger women want to work and enjoy their independent lifestyles.
Marriage in Japan carries heavy social responsibilities for women which
is why they delay tying the knot," she said.
Akiko Yahagi, 30, can vouch for that. Yahagi graduated in international
relations in Japan, then spent three years in the United States studying
design.
Yahagi works in a foreign bank and says marriage is but a distant
dream. ‘'I am too busy enjoying my work to start a family. Perhaps when
I am forty I will consider taking on the responsibility,'' she explained.
Shimzu also blames increased global competition faced by Japanese
companies that want to reduce personnel costs by hiring women as part-
timers. Half the working population is female but more than 60 percent
of that number is employed as part-timers.
''The trend among private companies is to hire women as part-timers to
lessen personnel costs such as paying bonuses or paid vacation. I doubt
this will change as Japan faces increased competition in the global
market," she says.
Katsuya Saito, official in charge of a new health ministry department
called Support for Child Rearing, says the central government plans to
take several landmark steps to change the situation.
Plans include doubling current child allowances, from April this year,
to 100 US dollars per month for couples having their third child. New
regulations are also being readied to nudge companies to decrease
working hours for both men and women so they can share the family
workload.
"The government now acknowledges that the key to higher birth rates is
to make it easy for women to work and have a family. Our new plans will
help to change the situation," he said.
(END)
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