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Demographic Policy

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Japan’s Population Implosion

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Abstract

Why has the demographic issue in Japan long been neglected? There are a variety of background factors, including the state’s fear of repeating prewar militarist policies that promoted a “give birth and multiply” ideology and the postwar memory of overpopulation and food shortages.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    “The Japanese population finally went into decline last year. The time has come to focus on the problem, though it feels a little late to be doing so.” (Daiki 2006).

  2. 2.

    In the first edition of his Essay on the Principle of Population published in 1798, Thomas Malthus of the United Kingdom expounded his famous hypothesis: “Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio, subsistence, increases only in an arithmetical ratio’ and ‘[t]superior power of population cannot be checked without producing misery or vice.” (Malthus 1798).

  3. 3.

    Kito 2006; Asahi Shimbun 2008. The mid-Taisho to early Showa years brought a sense that Japan was overpopulated. The rice riots of 1918 are emblematic of this era. The self-sufficiency rate for rice fell from 94% in 1915 to 83% in 1939 due to the uneven development of agriculture and manufacturing. The promotion of rice imports only accelerated the deterioration of the agricultural communities. The government responded to this by systematic emigration.

    “The year is coming to a close as the financial crisis than began in the United States spreads through the rest of the world. It was the same at the year’s end in 1929. A stock market crash in the New York Stock Exchange had dragged the United States into the Great Depression, and Japan had also plunged into its own Showa Depression.” The Showa Depression and the Great Depression - Economic growth rate (nominal): Japan-18.3%, Unites States-49.7%.”

  4. 4.

    Hiroshima 2006.

  5. 5.

    Mainichi Shimbun 2016. Yamaguchi Satoshi’s 2013 book What Was Getting Jobs En Masse All about? The Space-Time Continuum of the Golden Eggs (Shudan shushoku towa nande atta ka—kin no tamago no jikukan) explains the definition of “getting jobs en masse” as “mainly the mass relocation of young labor, mainly new graduates from middle school, and related phenomena caused by a range of systems of public organizations during the post-World War II high-growth era.” The period of Japan’s rapid economic growth during 1955–1973 is generally known as the high-growth era.

  6. 6.

    The Council on Population Problems 1974.

  7. 7.

    Nikkei 2015. The catchphrase “1.57 Shock ” swept like a whirlwind through Japan in 1990. It was revealed that the “year of the Fire Horse” superstition had caused the previous year’s total fertility rate to dip below the previous post-World War II low in 1966.

  8. 8.

    “The decline of the birth rate raises many questions about the future of our country. We must entrust Japan’s future to actively supporting the willingness of young people to have children and make efforts to that end. Children are the treasures of our world. To protect this treasure and to enable it to grow healthy and robust is more important than any other task. I shall aggressively promote the creation of an effective environment with these thoughts engraved on my heart (National Diet Library 1990).”

  9. 9.

    Economic Planning Agency 1992.

  10. 10.

    “The rapid deterioration in birthrates in recent years has engendered concern that there will be a widespread influence on the economy and society of our nation. It is important that the government work together to take comprehensive measures in order to ensure that in the 21st century Japan remains a society in which our people can have dreams and hope for their families and for raising children in a bright future. That is why, based on the Basic Policy on Advancing Measures in Response to the Falling Birthrates, I will submit to this Session of the Diet bills to revise the Law Concerning the Welfare of Workers Who Take Care of Children or Other Family Members, Including Child Care and Family Care Leave in order to advance the creation of an employment environment to facilitate a society in which people can give birth to and raise their children while continuing to work. At the same time, I will try to enhance childcare services through steps such as expanding the framework for accepting younger children at daycare facilities. In this way, I will advance comprehensive measures to respond to falling birthrates spanning broad sectors including social welfare, employment, education and housing.” (MOFA 2001)

  11. 11.

    “People have pointed to the need to review the parental authority provisions in the Civil Code because of such matters as the existence of persons who have parental authority who try to justify child abuse or make unjust demands regarding institutionalized children under the pretext of parental authority and the reluctance towards petitioning or ruling for loss of parental authority due to the fact that the entire parental authority is taken away without a time limit under the parental authority loss system” (Ueki 2011).

  12. 12.

    Ministry of Justice (MOJ) 1950.

  13. 13.

    ILO 1952.

  14. 14.

    MHLW 2005; Cabinet Office 2008.

  15. 15.

    Other areas not mentioned in the text include enhancement of the maternal and child health medical system, promotion of more relaxed education, improvement of the living environment, reduction of economic burdens, and education and enlightenment.

  16. 16.

    MOJ 2015.

  17. 17.

    OECD 2013.

  18. 18.

    The law was enacted in 1966. Its purpose is to create employment security for workers and improving workers’ economic and social status, as well as to contribute to economic and social development and the achievement of full employment (Employment Measures Act 1966).

  19. 19.

    6th Plan of 1988; 7th Plan of 1992; 8th Plan of 1995; 9th Plan of 1999. 5 Year Economic Plan: Japan Living with the World, 1988; 5 Year Plan for a Life Superpower, 1992; Socio-economic Plan for Structural Reform, 1995; Policy Plan for an Ideal Economy and Economic Rebirth, 1999.

  20. 20.

    Number of Brazilian immigrants—under 10,000 in 1988; over 230,000 in 2010. Number of Peruvian immigrants—under 10,000 in 1988; over 52,000 in 2010 (Goto 2012).

  21. 21.

    Cabinet Office 2014a.

  22. 22.

    Agency for Cultural Affairs 2015.

  23. 23.

    A zone designated by the national government based on the perspectives of boosting the international competitiveness of industry and promoting the creation of centers of international economic activities by giving priority to advancing structural reform of the economic syste m. Tokyo Metropolis, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Narita City in Chiba Prefecture have been designated as the Tokyo Area zone by the national government (Tokyo Metropolitan Government 2013).

  24. 24.

    “So as to lift the growth potential under the decreasing population, while it is important to heed the national debate, a commitment should be made to accept strategic immigration of a highly skilled foreign labor force and apply the mutual exchanges with them to complement economic growth and development” (Cabinet Office 2014b).

  25. 25.

    See Nikkeiren (2001), and the recommendations on the question of accepting foreign workers in Keidanren (2004).

  26. 26.

    Although the Japanese government created an action plan in 2011 on measures for long term residents of Japanese ancestry centered on education and everyday life support, there is no end to foreigners of Japanese ancestry leaving Japan because of discriminations and other reasons. The Brazilian population of the city declined by more than 10% in 2013, even though the economy had improved (Nikkei Veritas 2014).

  27. 27.

    Efforts have been made to improve multilingual adaptation of portal sites for long term resident foreigners. The Congress of Cities with Concentrated Population of Foreigners consists of the administrations of cities and regional international exchange associations with large populations of Latin Americans of Japanese ancestry known as “newcomers” and other foreigners. It was established to exchange information regarding measures and activities concerning resident foreigners in order to actively work to resolve the various challenges that are emerging locally.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Sociology, Toyo University, Tokyo, Japan

    Inagawa Hidekazu

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  1. Inagawa Hidekazu
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Asia Pacific Initiative, Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation, Tokyo, Japan

    Yoichi Funabashi

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Hidekazu, I. (2018). Demographic Policy. In: Funabashi, Y. (eds) Japan’s Population Implosion. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4983-5_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4983-5_5

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-4982-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-4983-5

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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