POPULATION: Japan Desperate for a Baby Boom

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Nov 16 1997 (IPS) - Friends and family were not the only ones gushing over Sumiko Hara and her new baby when she gave birth to her third child recently.

The local government was so happy with the latest addition to the Hara family that it gave the 30-year-old mother a free two-year lease on a new mini-van – one of the more unusual incentives being offered by authorities, desperate to shore up Japan’s plunging birth rate.

Already down to 1.42 children per family in 1996, latest statistics show Japan has a birthrate of less than one child per family. Unreal as that may sound, Japanese demographers say the situation will only get worse, and they warn of serious economic and social repercussions if authorities do not act now.

Possible consequences include a heavier burden on the working population in the form of less take-home pay and higher social security costs. Japan also runs the risk of disruptions in family and community life, say population experts, and may well see a rise in the number of spoilt children as a result of single-child families.

A report released this month by the Ministry of Health and Welfare says the apparent reluctance of married couples to have big families means Japan is well on its way of becoming the fastest ageing country in the world.

At present, about 15 percent of the population is 65 years old and above. By year 2020, says the report, one in three people will be 65 or older, or 32.3 percent of the population.

The situation is “a grave problem for the government”, admits Hiroshi Chiyoda, director of the population section at the Ministry of Health and Welfare. But he says it has become clear after years of numerous inter-agency debates that public assistance – including incentives like shiny new vehicles – is not really the solution.

That is why developing special financial programmes to reverse the trend has run into problems with the Ministry of Finance, which has a major say on the national budget.

One of the top reasons cited by Japanese couples for not having more than one or two children is economic, according to surveys conducted by the government. The high cost of living in Japan and a growing desire for luxuries can mean an average expense for child care of 20 million yen (166,000 dollars) per child until age 18, say family experts.

With housing loans, daily purchases, holiday bills to worry about as well, it is unsurprising that more and more couples are becoming cool to the idea of large families.

Compared to other major industrialised countries, Japan offers scant financial assistance for child-rearing. In some countries, for instance, the state provides child-rearing allowances until the child turns 16. A Japanese child gets support from the government only during his or her first three years.

“I would like to have two children when I marry,” says 22-year- old university student Miho Suzuki. “But that’s not possible because the burden is too heavy in a country like Japan.”

That is unlikely to change. According to Chiyoda, officials think extending cash payments would not do much in encouraging couples to have more children. Instead, they fear the dole-outs may only prompt parents to lavish their only child with more expensive clothes and even more extra-curricular activities.

“What we need to do is create an atmosphere where people, especially the women who are usually the ones burdened with child- rearing, will find it easier to have more children,” says Chiyoda. “There has to be a major overhaul of the whole system such as reducing working hours and encouraging more child-care leave.”

Indeed, the labour ministry is already studying proposals for longer vacations for those with children and for the construction of more day-care centres to ease the worries of working mothers.

Officials are also thinking of ways to encourage the men to take a greater share in doing more housework, says Chiyoda. But he acknowledges that many obstacles to a baby boom remain, including traditions that emphasise male domination, an economy that has created a workaholic society and a younger generation that values affluent and independent lifestyles.

In the past several years, for instance, women have been delaying marriage and children in order to concentrate on their careers. An increasing number of young couples — themselves products of small- size families — also say they prefer to be without children.