Japan

Japan

Amanda Moua

Japan as “developed” as it is has its own problems. No country is perfect and this place is a perfect example of that. Although they ship out top-of-the-line technology and is regarded as a place with expensive tastes, there are problems bubbling just below the surface. When visiting a place like Tokyo one notices how futuristic it looks and the lights that surround the city but what they don’t see is issues that trouble the country. The main problems that have the country stirring are the declining birth rate and acts against women.

A rising issue in Japan is (to put it bluntly) the amount of sex women are having. The concern is that they aren’t having enough. Crazy right? Well it’s true. Over the years many reports have been made about the working women in Japan. In society’s opinion, they have been too work-orientated to think about anything else, including procreating. In fact, the average number of child births per year is fewer than 2.1 and not looking to rise anytime soon.

The concerns originate from the rising group of the elderly. The age gap has shown that there are many older folks but there is no one to take care of them. One reason comes from women having different priorities than they used to. As great as it sounds that women are being independent and working more, it means that they are choosing not to start families. Tokyo has the lowest birth rate of all. The danger is that next century there will be lots of people over the age of 65 but not enough young people to take care of them.

In Japan it is not only that fewer babies are being born but also that the country’s elderly population is growing. The country already has one of the highest life expectancy but it is expected to rise in the coming years. Because of this the Japanese welfare system is having a difficult time finding money for the elderly. What will eventually happen is the relationship between those who are contributing to the pension system and those taking from the pension will deteriorate. At some time the system will go bankrupt.

Japanese women see getting married and having kids as limitations, they’ll think they’re losing their freedom. I think that, that’s the biggest reason for the declining birth rate. In fact, almost 40% of Japanese women and men between the ages of 25 and 30 live with their parents – single and without children. For those types of people society has given them a nickname: parasite single. The name is given because they say those people just sponge off their parents to live a comfortable and carefree life.

Many women today are rejecting the traditional role of being a married stay-at-home housewife. More and more women want to work and have a role in the modern Japanese society. This steams from the oppression that Japanese women have felt throughout the years. They have grown tires of men thinking they’re better that this is a way to prove them wrong. They want to focus on work to prove that they can make a difference just as much as a man can. It is very empowering but now that’s all they focus on. They have yet to find a good middle. For women having children makes it difficult to work so they don’t consider it important to their future.

In response to this the government has launched a plan to provide more child care for working mothers. They have also though about free tuition for preschoolers and elementary children to encourage women to have kids. They try and get rid of the financial worries of having babies. Also to prevent a downfall in the future society many officials have tried to create plans to persuade women to get married and have children. Seido Noda is an example of a legislator who has worked on the birthrate issue for years. Her proposal is a little unusual; she says that if the government wants more people to have babies, the country shouldn’t let women have abortions. With 200,000 pregnancies being terminated per year, she says to counter the falling birthrate: they should start at the beginning. Regardless of opinion on the issue one sees how seriously Japan’s leaders are taking the birthrate as a national issue.

Regardless of where you live there is some sort of abuse going on, most against women. Japanese society and culture has taken a sexist view that women are not as equal as men and so they can be beaten and suffer at the hands of a man. We assume that domestic violence comes entirely from husbands; however that is not the case. Domestic violence can come from anywhere. The perpetrators can include current husbands, past husbands, boyfriends, fiancés or strangers.

Thanks to the volunteer women groups and activists in Japan who have worked hard against the problem of violence, the Japanese government enacted the Prevention of Spousal Violence and the Protection of Victims in 2001. It was the first official recognition by Japanese politicians and law makers in Japanese history that domestic violence was considered a crime. Although it was a good stepping stone to prevent spousal violence, it was met with criticism because it did not go far enough to provide legal protection and safety for a long period of time. The act was revised in 2004 to some extent but was also met with criticism there for the same reasons.

The assaults of women can be physical or emotional. Physical assaults usually occur in the household where things can be kept private and it’s easier to force the women to keep her mouth shut. Unfortunately the reporting rate is drastically low for rape. The occurrence of rape is not noticeably lower than that of other countries but the number of cases reported in official statistics is extremely low. Many women are afraid of the assault happening again so they keep their mouth shut but the main reason why they don’t say anything is because of shame. Keeping the family honor is a very important characteristic in the Japanese culture that they will do anything to keep it upright, even if that includes lying to the police. Some victim support groups estimate that rape cases in Japan amount to more than 10 times the National Police Agency’s official figure.

A big problem in Japan involving sexual assaults is molestation and groping on subway cars. There are a record numbers of sexual assaults that happen on Japan’s trains. Many are not sure why the attacks are so prevalent but there are a couple of theories. Japan’s rush hour produces a daily crush that makes it hard to really move around. Unfortunately that just makes it easier for perverts to let their hands explore. Groping is essentially a fetish like any other but I think it’s most common in Japan because the trains are so crowded. If they weren’t, then the gropers wouldn’t be so bold and able to get away with it.

Many ask why women just don’t attack back or scream but it’s easier said than done. Like I said before trains get so crowded that even if a woman saw her attacker she wouldn’t be able to move easily to protect herself. Another reason why women don’t fight back as much is because for centuries women have been so severely repressed and placed beneath men that they don’t say or cry for help; they just endure it. They also worry about if anyone will believe them anyways since they’re a woman. For years Japanese culture has been “stuck” in a sexist mindset and the notion of woman’s inferiority is deeply ingrained into history. Another reason is shame. What woman wants to explain how humiliating it was to be sexually harassed in a crammed train full of strangers?

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