Most Single Japanese Women Want to Stay Unmarried

[Lilith]

(submitted by gekkogecko)

Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters) - Most single Japanese women prefer
not to marry and believe they can live happily alone
for the rest of their life, a poll showed Friday,
casting another shadow on the future of a country
plagued by a falling birthrate.

About seven in ten single Japanese women surveyed by
the conservative Yomiuri newspaper said they would
rather stay unwed.

"The result reflects a recent trend among single women
who no longer attach social stigma to choosing the
single life," the daily said.

Japan's government is struggling to stem a tumbling
birthrate and keep the population from shrinking.

The country's fertility rate -- the average number of
children born to a woman during her lifetime -- fell
to 1.29 in 2003, the lowest in the post-World War II
period.

In Tokyo, the figure was a startling 0.9987.

Underscoring concerns that an aging population may
dent future growth in the world's second-largest
economy, Japan said Monday that its population grew
only 0.05 percent in the year to Oct. 1, its slowest
increase in 54 years. Japan's population totaled an
estimated 127,687,000 as of Oct. 1, 2004.

A government think tank has forecast that Japan's
population will peak in 2006 and start to shrink the
following year.

If present trends persist, the population would fall
to about 100.6 million in 2050. Among oft-cited
reasons for the falling birthrate are higher education
levels, changing attitudes toward marriage and
individual freedom, the high financial burden of child
rearing, and the hardships involved for working women
given long hours on the job and a persistent dearth of
daycare.

The Yomiuri said 74 percent of surveyed men and women
in their 20s said they believe women can be happy
unmarried, while the rate dropped to 66 percent of
those in their 30s and 58 percent in their 40s. "The
result depicted a tendency among younger generations
to remain single, leading observers to the conclusion
that the number of people who marry late will further
increase and will lower the birthrate," the newspaper
said.

Unless steps are taken, the shortage of children will
create problems for Japan including damage to its
economic growth prospects, higher social welfare costs
for individuals, and even psychological problems from
poorly socialized youth, said a government white paper
released in October.

[cowgirltease]

From what I remember only a few years back they were only allowed so many children because of over population?
Correct me if I'm wrong.

[maddy]

I know in China they are allowed one child, and often if the child is a female she is abandoned at an orphanage so that they have a hope of having a male child to carry on the family name.

[luvnit7869]

Japan has never had population control. China is the country that only allows one child.

However, China is now realizing that the "one child" concept is also going to cause them great grief in the next generation. Families are so focused on a son (who will take care of them in their old age) that the daughters are being abandoned and adopted by foreigners. What is going to happen is that there will be a generation of males who will not have a Chinese girl to wed and that will cause even further population issues.

[maddy]

While it is a problem, luvnit, many of those girls go un-adopted and are left in the orphanges until they are old enough to work (early teens, I believe). The bigger issue might be that these females are not considered acceptable spouses as they lack education and are typically in the "sweat shop" industrial areas.

Small sidenote, I know someone that recently adopted and they were amazed at the miles after miles of industrial type buildings that were occupied primarily with these young girls as the workers. They often lack most things we consider normal for a teenager because of all their years spent in the small confines of an orphanage that is not often up to what Americans would consider good standards ... think rows of babies (infants) wrapped in blankets lying on cement or dirt floors because there is a shortage of space for cribs.

Sorry to have gotten away from the subject of the original post.

[cherrypie7788]

That's a horrible thought.....

But, maybe the Japanese women are onto something. While I want to be married, I don't want children, I guess that could change. Maybe some people just dont WANT them, higher education aside. In today's world, our (women's) sole purpose isn't to have children and stay at home, and I think this is a "trend" catching on all over, not just in Japan.