Record-low Births: Society as A Whole Needs to Support Child Rearing / How Should Young People's Mindset Be Changed?

Yomiuri Shimbun

2 days ago

Despite the various measures taken by the central and local governments, the birth rate is declining only at an accelerating pace.
It is essential that society as a whole support childbirth and child rearing so that those who are considering marriage and having children actually want to do so. The mindset of young people should also be encouraged to change.
The central government has released Japan's vital statistics for 2024. The number of births as Japanese people was 686,061, falling below 700,000 for the first time since statistics began in 1899.
The total fertility rate, which indicates the average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime, also fell to 1.15, below the previous record low of 1.20 in 2023.
30% decrease in just 8 years
The number of births exceeded 2 million a year from 1971 to 1974, the period called the second baby boom. It then gradually declined, falling below 1 million for the first time in 2016. This means that in just eight years since then, the number of births decreased by about 30%.
Meanwhile, the number of marriages was only 485,063, the second lowest postwar figure after the 474,741 in 2023.
In its Children's Future Strategy formulated in 2023, the government removed the income limits for the child allowance and also extended its duration from through junior high school age to through high school age. Benefits for company employees and other workers on childcare leave were raised to match their regular take-home pay before they went on leave.
Although the government's aim to alleviate the financial burden of child rearing is understandable, it will be impossible to halt the trend of low birth rates if the focus of measures is solely on providing benefits.
The government should review its current measures against low birth rates and make them more comprehensive.
According to a government survey, among women aged 25-29, the proportion of nonregular employees who said they wanted children was over 30% less than that of regular employees. For men in the same age group, the proportion of married nonregular employees was 60% less than that of regular employees.
It is no wonder that nonregular employees, whose employment is unstable with wages that tend to be low, are hesitant to get married or have children. It is important to convert nonregular workers into regular employees and expand the number of slots for hiring regular employees.
Starting in fiscal 2020, the central and local governments began hiring such people as clerks at public offices and janitors at schools as nonregular civil servants for a period of one fiscal year. If the central government is to encourage the private sector to convert nonregular workers into regular ones, the central and local governments should first promote the conversion of these workers into regular employees.
Work style reform is key
Recently, 'short-time regular employees' — those who work only around two days a week — are being allowed at some companies. It is envisioned that these employees continue to work as regular employees during the child-rearing period and return to full-time work once the first stage of child rearing is complete.
It is advisable for the government to promote such flexible work styles.
However, no matter how much support the central and local governments provide for balancing work and child rearing, it will be meaningless if young people do not want to get married or have children.
According to a government survey of unmarried persons conducted in 2021, the number of those who believe that people should have children after marriage has decreased significantly compared to the previous survey six years earlier, down 30 percentage points to 37% for women and down 20 points to 55% for men.
It appears that some people are content with the simplicity of their single lives and are not considering marriage.
Decisions on marriage and childbirth should be left up to the individual. However, if the number of births continues to decline, the nation cannot be expected to grow and social vitality will be lost. It will also become difficult to maintain social security systems such as pensions, medical and nursing care.
Young people who are currently on the side of supporting these systems are also on the side of those who will be supported by them in the future. It is vital to encourage young people to be aware of this fact.
The population will continue to decline due to the low birth rate. For the time being, there is nothing for it but to rely on foreign people for manpower. It is necessary to smoothly operate the newly established 'training and employment' program in place of the current technical intern training program, which has caused problems due to poor work environments.
It is regrettable that, despite the low birth rate, instances of members of the younger generation abandoning their child-rearing responsibilities have become a problem.
Regrettable abandonment of child-rearing role
A 'baby hatch' that accepts infants anonymously who are dropped off by parents who cannot raise them was established at a hospital in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, in March this year, following one at a medical institution in Kumamoto City.
Although some might have unavoidable circumstances, people could come to feel happy as a parent only after experiencing the difficulties of child rearing.
It is also serious that more than a few children have committed suicide. UNICEF ranked Japan 14th out of the world's 43 wealthiest countries on the well-being of children in terms of physical and mental health and academic ability, among other factors. In contrast, its suicide rate among those aged 15-19 ranked fourth.
A fact that must not be forgotten is that society as a whole has a responsibility to establish an environment in which children will grow up healthily.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 6, 2025)