Will the Japanese Tendency to Delay Marriage Change Japan?

The tendency of Japanese to delay marriage has become clearly evident. According to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the average marriage age last year was 29.6 years for men and 28.9 years for women. The late marriages are having a big impact on childbirth. Last year, the number of children's births stood at 1,110,835. Women with the highest number of births were aged 30~34 years; they produced 416,000 children. This was followed by 370,000 in the 25~29 age group, 150,000 in the 35~39 age group, and 137,000 for the 20~24 age group. Altogether, the average Japanese woman had 1.29 children. The trend towards having fewer children is continuing: It is predicted that Japan's total population (currently 127,000,000) will peak this year and start declining from next year. If the current birth rate continues, it is forecast to drop to around 35,000,000 by 2100.

On the other hand, the average Japanese life span is 78 years for men and 85 years for women, and both are the longest in the world. Japan's longevity trend is continuing. With the falling birthrate, an emerging issue is pensions. Though pension recipients are increasing, the pension amount will decline as generation after generation of supporting workers decreases. Citizens are obligated to pay the pension premium, but ratio of people paying their premiums as required is 63.3% with 20% of young people not paying at all. The big reason for this is that they say they expect to receive less of a pension than they paid out in premiums.

The falling birthrate influences not only pensions, but also numerous aspects of society. The number of kindergarten and primary schools has already decreased, and the trend is expanding to junior and senior high schools. It is predicted that universities will miss their quotas, and many rental properties will become increasingly empty. In addition, it is inevitable that all industries, including food and clothing industries, will be impacted.

By now the Japanese government has not been able to develop an efficient policy to stem the falling birthrate. Even if the government wants women to deliver more babies, it is unreasonable to expect them to considering that women are enjoying their current lifestyles.

It is the time to consider seriously accepting foreign immigrants
Perhaps the most effective means of dealing with the birthrate issue is to allow foreigners to live in Japan. There are no doubt millions of foreigners who wish to work in Japan. It is time to seriously consider accepting these people in order to gradually match the decrease. Advanced countries such as the US, Canada, Britain and Australia have been accepting foreign immigrants for years.

The reason that this plan has not been discussed publicly seems to be deeply rooted in the idea of Japanese homogeneity. Since the Japanese government takes a bloodline policy regarding immigration, when you apply for a working visa in Japan it is a very important factor whether your blood is connected to a Japanese or not. Therefore, Nikkei people are given preference for unskilled jobs. On the other hand, as brutal crimes committed by foreign nationals increase in Japan, more than a few Japanese people think that the more foreigners allowed into Japan, the more dangerous the country will become.

Many Japanese enterprises have emerged around the world, and various products including food have flooded Japan. Japan cannot survive alone anymore without depending on foreign nations. Money and resources are already in the midst of internationalization. Only human resources (places for foreigners to work) have not been internationalized. In order to maintain Japan's prosperity, it is necessary to accept foreign people regardless of whether one likes it or not.

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