The decline in the birth rate in Japan is a political failure of the leadership, not a population crisis

It seems that the decline in the birth rate in Japan is not a population crisis, but rather a political failure of the leadership has no easy solution, and to reveal the sharp decline in births to 720 thousand and 988 births in 2024, which is the lowest birth rate in 125 years, from the inability of the Japanese government to intervene and its lack of vision.

Politics makers have tried again and again, changing this state of births through weak incentives, superficial reforms, and social media campaigns, but all of this did not change the state of decline in the birth rate.

The stark truth remains that the Japanese leaders do not face a contraction in the population, but rather they fail to ensure the country’s ability to remain in the long term, and the failure to change this contraction indicates that political strategies were rooted in outdated assumptions, about work, family and social structure.

Politics makers in Japan have long believed that financial incentives would be sufficient to encourage husbands to have births, but the continuous decline in childbearing rates has proven that money alone is not the issue.

There are more depth forces that play a more important role, such as cultural changes, economic pressures, and a rigid work environment that makes raising children an inappropriate possibility for many Japanese youth.

Political leaders showed a flagrant lack of adaptation, and adherence to the outdated solutions, instead of pushing real structural change, and the mere provision of tax subsidies and exemptions will not be sufficient, but there must be a re -vision of how the government provides support to families, especially in areas such as a balance between life, work, housing and education.

This crisis revealed an uncomfortable fact about the ruling, as the rooted bureaucracy in Japan is struggling to address issues that require some flexibility, innovation, and long -term vision. While local governments have tried policies such as four -day work week, but these efforts remain isolated, rather than being part of a national strategy.

The political class appears to be in a state of self -deficiency, as it resists every change, and it must move from the short -term electoral districts, to the planning of generations.

The conversion of the people into a state of aging indicates that younger workers will bear a heavier financial burden, to preserve social services and retirement systems.

It appears that Japanese domination of technology and industry is not immune to population changes.

The shrinkage in the strength of employment indicates the shrinking numbers of innovators, businessmen shortage, and skilled workers ’lack to maintain the competition of industries.

This fact threatens the stability of the economy, and affects everything, from the consumer market, to international trade agreements, and Japan must implement a set of comprehensive reforms that address the roots of the reasons for the decline of reproductive rates.

First, the culture of work must be subjected to a fundamental change, as the country’s bad reputation about the culture of work, which lacks the option of parental holidays, prevents the spouses from having children, reducing working hours, expanding children’s entertainment facilities, and motivating companies to provide more flexible work arrangements that make parents in a more easy situation.

Second, the costs of raising children must be reduced in a large way, and although financial incentives have proven insufficient, direct intervention in the costs of education, medicine and housing can facilitate the financial burden on young families.

Thirdly, the immigration policy must be reviewed, and Japan has always opposed migration on a large scale, but with the aging of the population and the shrinking force of work, attracting skilled foreign workers can help stabilize economic growth.

Facilitating visa policies, the greatest support for migratory families, and long -term promotion programs, can reduce the effects of the indigenous population shrinkage.

The changing global scene increases the exacerbation of the crisis, and South Korea is suffering from a population crisis similar to Japan, but after making treatment attempts, there is a slight rise in the reproductive rate, which indicates that the change in politics and social patterns can cause teams in the country.

And if Japan fails to adapt, it is risked, not in the population decline, but rather in economic stalemate, in a world where the size of the workforce has become an increasing vital measure for competition.

For political leaders in Japan, this should be the moment of reconsideration of their accounts, and people will remember their continuous failure to act firmly, as the reason behind the exacerbation of the population crisis in Japan, and the economic and social collapse.

Is this country ready to change the traditional culture of action, to make “paternity” a more reasonable issue? Will it repair its immigration policies to compensate for its population loss? Can leaders accept policies that address the wide social aversion to marriage and family life? They are existential challenges that require bold and visionary leadership. On Asia Times

. The sharp decline in births to 720,988 born in 2024 is the lowest birth rate in 125 years.

. The rigid work environment makes breeding children an unattractive possibility for many Japanese youth.