From 1996 until 2000, I worked as an English teacher in the public school system of southern Japan. Being partly Japanese, I was excited and grateful for the opportunity to immerse myself in the language and rich culture of the “Land of the Rising Sun.”
It was particularly rewarding to witness the devotion of Catholics there. Perhaps because they are such a small minority within a predominantly Buddhist population, Japanese Catholics do not take their faith for granted. The Masses I attended were reverent and, in many respects, reminiscent of the traditional Latin Mass.
Despite the many good things I witnessed, I also observed an alarming trend — one the Register reported on in an article on “demographic winter” last fall (“Where Are the Children?” Oct. 4, 2009). Most of my anecdotal account is consistent with the evidence presented in the article.
During my time in Japan, I married a Japanese woman. When she thought she might be with child, we visited the local clinic. The doctor confirmed that she was indeed pregnant and asked, rather matter-of-factly, whether we wanted to keep the baby. That question left a lasting impression on me. The first time we saw our newborn was from behind the window of a postdelivery room containing 20 little beds. Only two of them were occupied.
A few weeks later, the government sent us about $3,000. I learned this was an incentive to encourage couples to have children. This fascinated me. Until then, I’d been oblivious to Japan’s low-birthrate crisis.
Perhaps I should not have been so surprised. My job required me to sometimes visit local kindergartens and day care centers, and the schools I visited were clearly built for larger numbers of children than were present. Sometimes the disparity was great. One nursery school I visited was built to accommodate 50 children. It had an enrollment of only eight.
Starker still was an elementary school built for a student population of about 100. I was astounded to discover, upon my first visit, only one student. The teacher explained that the school had to remain open until transportation arrangements could be made to bus the boy to a neighboring village. The teacher reminisced with sadness about a time when the school resounded with the sounds of children at play. My mind flashed back to the birth of my son and the 18 empty bassinets.
I would later attend a festival at which elders traditionally take turns calling out the names of babies born that year. That portion of the festival was very short and somewhat awkward, as there were dozens of senior citizens — and only three names for them to announce.
After returning to the United States, I eventually took a position teaching Japanese at a Catholic high school in northwestern New Jersey. One day in class, a student asked whether it’s true that Japanese law allows only one child per family. I explained she was confusing Japan with China. This led to a discussion in which I shared the reality of Japan’s low birthrate.
I cited the following statistic from a white paper published by the Japanese government in 2004: In 1950, there were approximately 28 births for every 1,000 people in the population. In 2007, that number was only eight births for every 1,000. Today the average number of children per Japanese family is, lo and behold, one — the same as in China.
Of course, in China the birthrate is kept low by state mandate. In Japan, it’s low by choice.
One student asked, “Well, isn’t that a good thing? I mean, after all, Japan is such a crowded country.” For most of my students, their vision of Japan is limited to images of overcrowded subways during the Tokyo rush hour. I explained that this image, although real, is no more accurate a reflection of Japan’s population density than Grand Central Station in New York reflects the population density across America.
Also, the view that having fewer children is the answer to society’s problems is as shortsighted as it is false. The Japanese themselves, at least on some practical level, understand this. The aforementioned white paper plainly states that “the foundations of communities, police, fire and other basic services will be threatened by the country’s declining birthrate and aging population.” For a nation to replace its population, families must have an average of 2.1 children: well above Japan’s average of one.
According to a U.S. annual report, Japan’s population peaked in 2005 and will plunge from its current 127 million to 89 million in 2050. That’s a decline of 30%. The median age in Japan today is 43 years old, the highest in the world. The average age in Japan in 2050 is projected to be 61. An increasing number of Japanese leaders are looking for an easy way out of the dilemma of rapid societal aging — as evidenced by recommendations by the Japanese Association of Acute Medicine to allow euthanasia for the terminally ill.
On last year’s Children’s Day, the government noted that the number of children in Japan had declined for the 26th consecutive year. Over the past decade, more than 2,000 junior and senior high schools closed due to lack of students to teach. As I recently viewed a report on Japanese television stating that more than 60,000 teachers are unemployed, I couldn’t help but wonder if that teacher I met at the one-student school still had a job. That same program reported that nearly 100 children’s theme parks have closed in recent years and that more and more pediatricians are switching specialties to become geriatricians.
Since the 1920s, when Margaret Sanger traveled to Japan to promote contraception and sterilization, the Japanese have embraced the modern notion of “family planning.” One recent poll revealed that 70% of young Japanese single women have no intention of getting married because babies are simply “too much trouble.”
This is something Catholic Americans might pray about on Mother’s Day.
What Japan — along with the rest of the modern world — needs is a radical rekindling of love for children. The Japanese must undo nearly a century of anti-natalist propaganda with a massive infusion of the values of family and an appreciation for the beauty and necessity of children.
For if things remain on their present course, Japan may very well find herself the “Land of the Setting Sun.”
Michael T. Cibenko writes from
Branchville, New Jersey.
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Yes, and the U.S. would be in the same boat if it weren’t for the Latinos coming into the country. I welcome them - if they come legally.
The US is partially to blame. The United States Government including Sec of State, Hillary Clinton, is promoting government funded abortions as part of women’s health care at the United Nations.
The Obama Party is truly a “Party of Death”. The other Party has one foot on a banana peel.
Voting for good candidates in all upcoming elections is critical.
All Catholic homes must have a copy of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition”, revised in accordance with the official Latin text promulgated by Pope John Paul II. It was first printed in the US in March 2000.
Studying this Catechism will help us to keep a good conscience rather than the heretical influences in our society - - including from so called Catholic politicians in the news etc.
This Catechism also makes a great birthday, graduation or other holiday gift.
Many of Latinos vote for the “Party of Death”, due to other campaign promises made to them. According to Rome, the US and Latin Amercia need Church revitalization
All legal immigrants should be welcome.
Less than 17% of the Catholics in this Country attend Mass on Sundays. The USA has become a missionary Country.
Tell all Catholics to get a copy of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, revised in accordance with the official Latin text promulgated by Pope John Paul II, first printed in the US in March of 2000.
Give it as gifts too.
After checking the birth rates of the world it is clear that the people of the future will be black and Muslim. Canada is barely above 1 pr thousand, the U.S. is 2.05 , below replacement leavel, and thanks only to the large influx of immigrants, legal and illegal. One thing is certain, there will be few white Christians in the not too distant future. White Christians will cease to exist for practical purposes. John Paul 2 was right, the future of the Church will be in Africa, whatever fature it has.
Not surprising at all. We are watching the great Empires fall just as they did in the past. You see, life without struggle is no life at all and it will destroy itself. In the USA Americans are killing the unborn which is making room for immigrants (legal and Illegal). Once the immigrants settle in and adopt the ways of the affluent they to will start to eliminate themselves. They want to enjoy life as they know it and have fun with sex and opiates caring little about the future etc. Sound like the end of the world? It just might be since no great Empire has lasted under the circumstances described. Will God intervene? Since you have a free will I doubt it very much. Even the great religions are falling but they will not disappear as they get ready for the next imperfect world…..
Nothing good can come from these statistics, that’s for sure. Blame can be put in many areas.
However, we, the wives and husbands have only to look at ourselves. Our selfishness and the continuation of the me me me generation. Until we, you and I, change our ways and let God decide, we will perish.
The 2.1 birthrate considered replacement is “2.1 births per woman ages 15 to 44”. Not 2.1 births per family, because in some cultures, women apparently prefer not to marry. So those who do marry must give somewhat more babies the opportunity of birth, if the culture is to replace itself with the same dna.
TeaPot562
I believe there is a passage that says: “Blessed are wombs that never bore.” We are in serious times around the world. May GOD forgive us for our selfishness and have mercy on us!
Japan is the “canary in the coal mine”. With significant 1st world benefits like medicare, pensions etc., the strains will appear as the average age moves upward to 61 and beyond. Who will pay for the benefits when the majority of the country is receiving the benefits and not paying in? A “Logan’s Run” scenario becomes more and more likely.
I completely believe that stadistic of 70% japanese young women don’t wanting to bear children, it’s logical if you see the whole magnitude of consumism over there, it’s probably something like ‘why waste my money and attention on a child if I can have it all for myself?’.
And well, I believe those comments about latinos are irrelevant to the matter, I’m just tired of seeing that topic coming into everything nowadays! They are people! just like any other race that may come ilegally, into any other country, aren’t all sons of the Lord? Prejudice is what often stop us from giving a proper testimony about what is been a Catholic!
May God be with you
Wow, this is sad news. I didn’t know Margaret Sanger had visited Japan. It’s funny that St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe went to preach in Japan ten years after she was there “anti-preaching.” May he intercede from heaven for Japan, Catholic and secular.
Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children,
for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.’
At that time people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall upon us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’
for if these things are done when the wood is green what will happen when it is dry?”
The Population Research Institute has a neat video series on the overpopulation myth. The videos are creative and short (about 2 min. ea.):
http://allhands-ondeck.blogspot.com/2010/05/overpopulation-is-myth-video-3.html
Speaking only for myself, I can say the reason I never had or wanted children was that my parents did an excellent job of convincing me it was the path to poverty and drudgery. My father never missed an opportunity to let us know what a financial burden we were and my mother constantly whined about having to do housework. Irony is they both wondered why I never wanted to get married and start a family.
Now that I see the direction this country is going, socialist tyranny, I’m glad I don’t have any children.
Dear George,
Relax! My six children, their spouses and growing numbers of grandchildren will pay the taxes for your social security and provide the manpower to meet your needs - and many others.
I can’t help but reflect on the ridicule we were subjected to in the 1980’s and 90’s when we appeared in public with our children.
Trust in God….....
The worst is that I have been teaching about this for years especially to prepara young couples for marriage and notice the absence of TRUTH by our bishops and priests who do not even offer Natural Family Planning that the rest of the contraceptive mentality use ONLY for con-ceiving when they “feel” like having a child.
Thank you for this sensitive and timely article, George. God bless and reward you.
Bea Ferreira
Japan may commit national suicide. They do not like babies, they do not like immigrants. The combination is poison.
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