Japan couples plan fewer children due to parenting difficulties, lifestyle choices: survey

OSAKA — Many couples in Japan are giving up on having their ideal number of children, including those who are hesitant to have another child after their first — and it’s not just about the cost.

According to the Japanese National Fertility Survey conducted by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research in 2021, the average number of children couples ideally wanted stood at 2.25, while they were planning to have 2.01 in actuality.

On the gap between their ideal and planned number of children, with multiple answers allowed, the most common reason was “child care and education are too expensive” at 52.6%. Other reasons included that they were “unable to bear the psychological and physical burden” (23.0%), “it would hinder work” (15.8%), “there’s a lack of cooperation from the husband” (11.5%) and “I want to prioritize my own lifestyle or our lifestyle as a couple” (8.2%) — reflecting concerns about parenting hardships and the desire to respect individual lifestyle choices.

With the number of dual income households increasing in Japan, the survey found that 69.5% of women who were working before the birth of their first child were still employed when their child was 1 year old.

Work style issues attributed to declining birth rate

Emiko Takeishi, a professor of human resource management theory at Hosei University and an expert in the challenges of balancing work and child care, pointed out that “the issue of work style is one of the factors behind the declining birth rate.”

While systems like parental leave and reduced working hours have been established, allowing women to continue working after childbirth, Takeishi explained, “The limited working hours and reduced work pace results in lower wages and evaluations, and they are unable to demonstrate their abilities as an active worker, which is a problem.”

Although parental leave for men is spreading, long working hours remain a norm, and it is difficult for men to refuse a transfer. This has led to a gender-based division of labor in which men work while women juggle both work and domestic labor. Takeishi emphasized that “while childbirth is a personal choice, it is essential to press society and businesses so that people can realize it when they desire it.”

(Japanese original by Keiko Shioji, Osaka City News Department)