Demographic Collapse in Japan—a Dramatic Situation?
Kitayama, Seiichi
Demographic Collapse in Japan—a Dramatic Situation? - 2025.
31
In our previous issue, Alain Parant warned about the significant fall in French fertility over the last 15 years which, if it persists over the medium-to-long term, might potentially lead to national demographic decline. Yet France remains very much the envy of the developed nations in this regard, beginning with Japan, where the population is ageing and declining at an ever-faster rate. In this article, the sociologist Seiichi Kitayama confirms the concerns generated by Japan’s demographic situation. After a brief historical reminder of the current decline and its socio-economic consequences, he rehearses the reasons commonly advanced in Japan to explain the fall-off in fertility, beginning with the decline of marriage. He points out, however, that the commentators are generally on the wrong lines if they think that (financial) inducements to marry made to young Japanese people could provide an answer. The question, in his view, is primarily of a social—if not, indeed, ideological—order: it has to do with working conditions, gender equality, and the outdated way cohabitation and births outside wedlock etc. are treated. He revisits these various aspects, which are too often left out of account by Japan’s rulers in their debates on offsetting the country’s demographic decline, emphasizing that nothing is inevitable if the correct levers are pulled to promote a higher birthrate.
Demographic Collapse in Japan—a Dramatic Situation? - 2025.
31
In our previous issue, Alain Parant warned about the significant fall in French fertility over the last 15 years which, if it persists over the medium-to-long term, might potentially lead to national demographic decline. Yet France remains very much the envy of the developed nations in this regard, beginning with Japan, where the population is ageing and declining at an ever-faster rate. In this article, the sociologist Seiichi Kitayama confirms the concerns generated by Japan’s demographic situation. After a brief historical reminder of the current decline and its socio-economic consequences, he rehearses the reasons commonly advanced in Japan to explain the fall-off in fertility, beginning with the decline of marriage. He points out, however, that the commentators are generally on the wrong lines if they think that (financial) inducements to marry made to young Japanese people could provide an answer. The question, in his view, is primarily of a social—if not, indeed, ideological—order: it has to do with working conditions, gender equality, and the outdated way cohabitation and births outside wedlock etc. are treated. He revisits these various aspects, which are too often left out of account by Japan’s rulers in their debates on offsetting the country’s demographic decline, emphasizing that nothing is inevitable if the correct levers are pulled to promote a higher birthrate.
Réseaux sociaux