How Do Japanese Elders See Japan’s Population Crisis? | Street Interview 

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"Is declining birthrates a problem?" "Yes." "How many siblings did you have?" "6-8." "How many kids do you have?" "0-2." "How should we deal with the birthrate?" "Young people should have more kids." The lack of self awareness is staggering. They should all know that it's not that easy, because they clearly had the same issues themselves, except things are worse now.

When I was young I tried working and could not believe how brutal the workplace was. I realized at a very young age that I would be in no position to ever raise a child. I watched my parents life as well. I could see that it was hell for them. In middle age I was able to support a partner, a wife. That was enough for me. I would not want to be young these days.

Oh man. I watched this to the end. The old man saying that we should all keep moving forward and have adventures like family life - because these things define our lives. That was very profound and meaningful to hear. I'm married and we have a daughter. We plan for child no. 2. It is whirlwind of emotions having a child but anxiety and stress fade away when I see my daughter laugh and learning about life.

The last message was amazing

The man talking about smartphones making us dumber and unquestioning was right to point out that it would be labeled as a conspiracy theory. But there are many of us that would swipe away and not engage with subjects that appear challenging or boring.

As someone who is also from a larger family, 5 kids, I echo what that one gentleman said about the benefits of growing up in a group. You learn to advocate for yourself and others, you learn how to work cooperatively with others in stressful situations, you learn how to argue your points effectively, you learn how to stay humble too 😅

I lived in Japan for 10 years from 1997 and the population problem was already obvious. I asked people what Japan would do about it. They usually just said they never thought about it, but anyone who had an opinion would say "money" and/or "robots." If I suggested immigration, they looked at me like I was from another planet. 25 years later, the problem has only gotten worse. I love Japan and the Japanese, but their "kick the can down the road" skills are beyond next level. Now there's no more road.

Japan is not the only country on population decline. The top 10 countries experiencing significant decreases in birth rates are: Bulgaria - Expected to decline by 22.5% from 2020 to 2050. Lithuania - Projected to shrink by 22.1% over the next three decades. Latvia - Expected to lose 21.6% of its population between 2020 and 2050. Ukraine - Anticipated to drop by 19.5% from 2020 to 2050. Serbia - Forecasted to decline by about 18.9%. Bosnia and Herzegovina - Projected to decrease by 18.2%. Croatia - Expected to shrink by 18.0%. Moldova - Anticipated to decline by 16.7%. Japan - Projected to lose 16.3% of its population between 2020 and 2050. Albania - Expected to decrease by 15.8% over the next 30 years

若者を責めてはいけない。 理由もなく遅くまで残業し、従業員に「帰れ！」と言わない上司のせいだ！ みんなを飲み会に引っ張り出す奴らを責めろ。 上の世代の慣習に苦しめられた若者を責めるな。システムは彼らの目の前で崩壊したのだ。彼らはただ反応しているだけだ。

I'm in my 20's but i don't know if i'll opt to having kids. I feel like people shouldn't just have kids because it's "fun" as i'm hearing in this video. I would want to be in a position to provide 'my kids' with a really comfortable lifestyle, nothing too extravagant but well-balanced and short of struggle.

In Canada, we are heavily taxed. It is said that our taxes are now higher than the cost of housing and food combined. The cost of having children has gotten to the point that it lowers your lifestyle, savings, the ability to work for a woman and retirement savings. If you bring a child into this world you owe that child everything you can do for him or her. The child didn't ask to be born. Having children is a costly endeavor. It's no wonder the birth rate is falling in Canada and we have to depend on immigration, migration, refugees, migrant workers and temporary workers.

12:36 this person here has lots of ideas and conspiracy theories and he was waiting his whole life for someone to ask him about it lol. He sounds interesting to talk to.

Wow! " Life is an adventure and those adventures define Life" The last message from that gentleman was incredibly awesome! Thank you, Asian Boss!!

I wish all these thoughtful seniors well. Live long and prosper.

For me as someone who were born in and still living in Sweden this is hard to understand. Sweden who is bigger than Japan in landmass, has a population of about 10 million, an increase of about 2 million since the year I was born. And I think that is too much. I cannot even imagine what it would be like with the same population density as Japan. The difference is insane. If I am not completely confused in my thinking that would be something like 11 or 12 more people for every 1 person living here in Sweden. I would probably nope out at that point and return to my ancestors, if you know what I mean... I love the Japanese people, they seem so friendly and considerate. But every country just like the planet as a whole has a limit as to how many of us it can sustain. A lowered birthrate in a very densely populated part of the world seems very natural to me. It gives me a VERY SMALL sliver of hope that maybe humans as a species wont send itself into oblivion through thoughtless and endless procreation on this planet that is alredy WAY past its limits... As my view of the future is really really dark, I have chosen to not have kids. My only experience with life is suffering, if I had kids I know that would be their legacy too... I could never...

Oh look, if it isn't the generation that's made it difficult to have kids demanding people have kids.

I think its financal at the heart of the problem. When you have a good job and can still barely afford rent & food...it makes you think twice about your ability to financally take on the responsibility of children. I love how that lady in white with the dog said..oh they should just have kids early, not even thinking about the younger generations financal status.

The issue is that older people ruined the prospects of us in the younger generation. The OG generation there were so many siblings, 5-8 siblings were normal! Then the next generation gets 1-2 kids. Now our generation hardly have kids at all. Why? Because while wages slowly rise with each generation, the costs of living increase 10 fold! A truckdriver with a housewife could support his entire family and still afford multiple cars etc. This was back in the day when trucking wasn't as well paid. I am a plumber, im 28 years old. I cannot fuckin afford to buy an apartment or house in the city before im close to 39-40 years old! It is that bad. How the hell am I or anyone else supposed to support a family when we cannot buy a roof over our heads?

Back then, people didn’t have birth control or sex education and having 6-8 kids was inevitable. But look at society now - when people are given the option to have a certain number of kids, it usually falls to 1-2 or 2-3. As a mom of two, I can say pregnancy is no joke! It’s hard on the body and exhausting and having more kids means that many of them will not be raised with one-on-one parental attention. Parents these days are having to unlearn the less than stellar parenting we were raised on in order to raise kids who are emotionally intelligent, kind, and who feel respected, loved, and wanted. Yes, we have an issue on our hands with an aging population, but it’s better for the parents and kids when the children are wanted, loved, well-taken care of, and have their emotional needs met. That guy who was the middle child of 7 boys - he said that if he didn’t get assertive, he wouldn’t have gotten any attention. Parents need their own goals and time to relax, too. And it’s not financially possible to have that many kids unless you’re extremely rich, and even then, would the kids get the same care and attention? Most people in Japan and Korea live in tight quarters. Thanks to smartphones and the internet, people are able to connect with so many more people around the world. We are able to share information and experiences, and learn from one another. Lower birthrates happen when countries become more wealthy and as people are free to decide on their family size. I am able to give my kids a much better life because of all the resources I have that my parents didn’t, and even as an only child, I had a difficult upbringing because of how generational trauma has affected my family.

I am still childfree mindset. Everyone can have different perspective about life. Life is about doing what is right for you not others. Don't follow others' rules . Make your own rules and apply it wisely.

Imagine giving birth for the sake of future pensions and economy 😂. These old people still don't understand young adults.

People have more and more to lose when having babies as their life is getting better and better. That's why the birth rate is dropping in EVERY rich country. The key point to promote the birth rate is to make the process of giving birth and raising kids less painful and exhausting for parents, especially women.

Birthrate problems are end-stage capitalist signs. As an end stage capitalist society we prioritize money over everything, because you have to. Unless you are born in an affluent family you have to work 40+ hours a week with 2 people to be able to afford to buy a house by the time you are 40 and cover monthly bills, saving only to go on some vacations or to upgrade your car (which you mostly use for work anyway). There is no time for raising your own children in any meaningful or enjoyable way. Childcare is extremely expensive and mostly privatized. What will happen is that pensions will eventually be removed and people will have to take care of their grandparents and parents in their own homes, allowing for even less time for children and increasing personal financial burdens. In the end there arent enough people to buy the goods and services and slowly everything collapses. My guess is this will take another 70 years before we really get there in most western countries. India, China and Africa should learn from our mistakes and start early on creating a more livable environment for people, not companies, once their standard of living has caught up to the western standards. There is a perfect balance to be achieved where everybody has enough money doing only a certain amount of work to save up and care for children. I think what was the 60's for the US was the peak of that. People bought houses, had kids and needed only one job to care for all of that in their mid twenties and thirties. Its proof that capitalism can work, we just need to find a way to stop the super rich people and banks from ruining it all.

In fact, Japan's land area is relatively large compared to the rest of the world, being larger than the United Kingdom and Germany. However, 70% of Japan's land is covered by forests, leaving only 30% as habitable area. Japan is already overpopulated.

A country that has 4-doubled its population in 150 years is not in crisis. There are limits to how many people the land can feed. We have to adapt - again.

In 1950 Japan's government voiced concerns that the Home Islands were insufficient for a population of 80 million people. Today's population is 123 million people. An odd thing about people is that they seem to forget that they are animals, and are subject to the rules of nature. People like to pretend that they are somehow different from other living things, and that their intelligence and ability to organize gives them the ability to rule nature. This is nonsense. Population is naturally limited by resources, and Japan's resources are not sufficient to maintain its current population, therefore the population is declining. Japan is not the only country which sees its population declining, this is an issue in many western countries, and by the end of this century, the world's entire population will begin to decline. Population decline is described as a major problem by some, and to some, it indeed is. The main party concerned is government, as all government spending plans assume future growth of at least 2% GDP annually. These plans are essentially Ponzi schemes which require an ever larger number of people to put their money in the system. Once the population starts to fall, these plans no longer work. The government solution is to collect more revenue in order to continue funding spending, but this makes it even harder for people to afford children, so the population falls even more quickly, exacerbating the problem. My grandfather was one of 12 children. His family was large because labor was valuable, and kids were an asset rather than a liability. My grandfather and his siblings went to work in factories when they were 7 years old. The factories paid for the labor, as well as supplying one meal per day, and teaching reading, writing, and math. When my grandfather and his siblings were old enough for "real work" they labored on the family farm. The labor of these 12 children bought and paid for the farm, which became one of the largest farms in their part of the state, and all of the kids, having learned the value of hard work when young, went on to live prosperous lives. Children today are not considered a family asset, but financial liabilities. In the past, having kids could help you get the money you needed to fund a larger home and all that went with it, today having kids has the opposite effect.

Very interesting. This is happening all over the world.

Ojiisan with blue hat, checker shirt, the grandpa we all need.

Really great interview again about such an interesting topic, I'm happy you're back!!

Thank you, Asian Boss, for this eye-opening topic!!

FYI: The book bald guy talked about is "The Attention Fix : How to Focus in a World that Wants to Distract You" by Hansen, Dr Anders, not "Smartphone Brain."

The old man with the blue hat at the end said it all

Thank you, Asain Boss. Love you ,on the street interviews with local communities. Keeps me educated on different Asain problems & attitudes of that countries peoples. Being Australian🇦🇺🌏 we are in the Asain regions .So I take great interest in the Asain regions. Japan, South Koria, China, Indonesia, Philippines & rest. ❤ASAIN BOSS on the street. 🇦🇺🌏fan.

>Population of USA in area of UK >People thinking population decline is a bad thing

Japan needs to start an A-hole tourist tax/fine system. That will take care of aging pop benefits

I think Japan needs a very dynamic change in their working culture, and allow more people to work from home, allow more foreign investment. It's 22nd century now.

There is a direct solution to this problem: 1. Drop family taxes by 20% for every child 2. Stand back and watch as the population booms

Very insightful video! I appreciate the openness of all the participants as well as the interviewers ability to ask good questions and make them feel comfortable. A lot of this information and 'food for thought' could be applied to other countries and cultures as well.

Thanks!

It’s not conspiracy, dear old man. You’re right about everything, unfortunately the goal is the movie “Idiocracy”.

We all talk about how the human race is getting old and not having enough kids but we also complain that there's to many people in the world. something is not right.

The last guy - being young should mean listening to adults advice halfway and ignoring it halfway 😂. I like that 👍🏾

The problem is that many old people have this expectation that their children will take care of them no matter what. But that's a mindset that formed at a time where everyone worked pretty much until the day they died, and the average life expectancy was like 60 at most. Of course it's all collapsing. These people are like 80-90 years old. The problem isn't declining birthrates. It's that they failed to adapt their financials to their lifespans. And instead of taking responsibility for their own failure, they dump the problem on their children and give a speech about "respecting your elders."

Wow never have attained such profound life lessons from your channel before! Great interview❤

There are many others countries in Asia that are in worse condition than Japan, like south Korea or China. Japan has fertility rate of 1.3 but South Korea has 0.7! Be worried more about Korea than Japan!

Aww they're so proud of their kids and grandchildren. I especially like how animated the middle child gentleman with the bald head is - good points

Great video! Just a quick note regarding the term "siblings". In English, when you mention how many siblings you have, you don't include yourself in that count, while in Japanese, 兄弟 does include you as well. In other words, 8人兄弟 means 7 siblings.

私の父方の祖母は12人兄弟だったと言ってました。明治生まれです。 母方の祖母は2人兄弟 大正

And yet... the Japanese government is playing the ignorance by apathy or ignorance by greed card. Or Both. Either way, until Japanese society comes to terms that capitalism is quite literally destroying their society by an overworked and underpaid society, this will continue to decimate their population... But I digress, we have too many humans as it is and I believe long term this will benefit Japan in 50 years. But until then, say adios muchachos to Japanese society.

It is sad that only one of the elderly(4:00) is trying to understand what the younger generation is going through. The world today is not the same as when the elderly are young.

I totally vibed with the last interview....life is an adventure and you have to go with it!!

Why is population decline considered such a big issue? Isn't it inevitable that every country's population will eventually decline? Does everyone expect population growth to continue indefinitely? Can you imagine Japan or South Korea with 1 billion people? Or even the United States with 1 billion people? Would that be healthy for these countries? Japan currently has about 125 million people, which is significantly more than any European country. It's not going to disappear anytime soon.

Japan need to sort out its work place ethics then the population will slowly rise

1:08 the way this guy talks is so cool! so unexpected for an older fellow

And it's not just about not 'wanting' kids, infertility is rising massively in the 1st world countries. You either have people who don't want kids or people who want them and can't have them. It's so frustrating. All I'd want is to have a normal family life like my parents had, finally having a child with my husband who I love. It amazes me how some insurances and companies pay for abortions but nobody wants to pay for infertility treatments.

Seems like the old people themselves say they had 1-2 kids. Even 2 is not enough to stay at the same total population! Lacking self-awareness. Though of course, this is the truth. The birth rates have been going down for a long, long time. Steadily to the point where we are today. Not just Japan, most of the world.

14:00 これ真理だな。日本人が本心を隠す習性のマイナス面だなー

This is real insight about japanese society and the elderly

Fun fact older Japanese have always lived in fear of the young. . . abandoning them it was the specter in the back of their mind that they never speak of but always knew

I understand what she's saying here 3:00 but that's like treating the symptoms when perhaps you should treat the disease. Something is making the young people react this way. Nothing happens for no reason. Find the problem and fix it.

13:58 Disclaimer: My Japanese is not native, but he definitely said, "We can brainwash them into thinking..." instead of, "We can make them change their minds." LUL 洗脳 kanji is literally "wash brain."

Why do people assume that a population should continuously expand and never contract? A healthy population reaches an equilibrium with its environment wherein the population fluxes upward and downward in a continuous alternating succession. The number of people should go up and then down and then up and then down, always staying within a healthy range. But a part of this process is that the population goes down routinely without the whole of society degenerating into a panicked state.

Inflation affects people's future lives, if you save money and it devaluates you're in a worst position than those who spent right away, this damages long term planning.

Despite their life experiences, the individuals in the video express a desire for the current generation to adhere to traditional values, even though they acknowledge the challenges of raising children in today's world. One interviewee notes that a declining population could impact their pensions, suggesting that the issues faced today are not solely the fault of the current generation but rather a result of systemic changes over time. Their viewpoints appear to be outdated, which highlights the generational differences I, as a Gen Z, am addressing.

Underdeveloped countries have higher populations because women have no choice & and fewer obligations outside the home. Developed countries are declining in population because women have the same obligations as their male counterparts plus motherhood/child rearing. The children of the generations wherein the mother has done both, know better than to subject themselves to it😖

Was about to comment about pension problem sarcastically without watching it first, oh boy, the first minute. 0:59

30year old male single here. Every time I see my housekeeper ask me for CA (Cash Advance) so she can supplement her sister's tuition fees (She has 3 siblings and one son), I always think what would happen to my financial situation if I ever get married. Sure, I have money now to live comfortably. But what happens when I have kids? I'm not planning on having only one. I'm an only child and it sucks. So it's either I have 3 children or none. By the way I'm Filipino and this problem is also now creeping on our society, aside from the mass migration to western countries.

The comments below, that are marked "loved by Asian Boss", suggests the video is biased towards people with children. Please note the increasing trend in developed countries of individuals choosing to stay single or marry without having children. Every individual has the right to make their own life choices.

I see the future generations can’t do anything right. I’m a 25 year old young man who just started studying anti aging. My job is to make people to become young again besides a celebrity. We should stick to our own kind and focus on changing the future. If the rude young people are increasing, the whole world would be in danger by now.

I grow up in a large family and I agree totally with "smartphone mind" men 😂.. i really love him 😅

They have some points I agree with but the fact they just pass off the blame for birth rate to their children is just negligent.

interesting

This is not a situation unique to Japan. Population crisis defines all developed countries.Throughout the times people have widely had some motivation or another to reproduce - more children meaning first of all more chance for survival and then, more workforce to work or defend their land. They needed offspring to pass on their estates, businesses and wealth; the poor and uneducated had children by default. In modern societies people reproduce in a very controlled manner due to a plethora of reasons and/ or personal beliefs. Nowadays personal happiness and fulfillment means a great deal in taking the decision on having kids or rather not. Young(er) generations lack the powerful motivation of their predecessors and besides very few are happy and fulfilled. What have young people to pass on to their kids? The ratrace, frustrations, joblessness, modern slavery? How can the many be happy working their lives off for the perpetual benefit of the very few? The filthy rich of this world and their cronies should reproduce masively - after all they have the motivation and the means. Let them work their butts off to keep their fortunes instead of asking for more slaves. Let them give back to society for once.

Japan would be a great place to raise a family and hope the Japanese start having children again. Immigration is a lazy solution.

There is one glaring factor that affects the birth rate of any country; education level and career opportunity for women. Plain and simple.

Japan doesnt need emigrant They need more robot and machine workers and then Tax The company and emplement ubi.

It's going to happpen everywhere. Even in some regions in Brazil for example there's a birth declining rate, imagine in developed countries like Japan, US, Canada etc.

The interview location is nearby Ueno 上野駅 station.

I'd like to have a beer with that bald guy with the dark, collared shirt. Seemed like a cool and interesting dude.

Many years ago the older people all wished to be young again. In these days you can hear voices of the older henerstions that they never want to be young again.... and some of the oldest are glad to leave and they hope there is no reincarnation. So something went terribly wrong on the way.....

a time when population keep going up and will reached a time when it will start falling then it will reached an equilibrium level. The problem here now is the damages/consequences it will caused when the population start falling before reaching equilibrium.

Subtitle translation is a bit off here and there.

As a younger generation I'd say the world can go to hell for all I care.

In my experience you have to accept a lot of inconveniences when raising children. Your relationship with your partner will take a hit too for about 4 to 5 years. What really helps is having your parents around or a babysitter every now and then. From a societal perspective making daycare free or almost free is pivotal for many parents to cope financially. Where I live it's all too obvious that having kids is a very expensive endeavour. Too expensive for 1 parental income tbh. And being a single parent without support from parents will lead to poverty. That situation combined with the time it takes to complete education and having a decent job, our changing attitudes for craving fun and satisfaction in stead of being happy with small things and people around you, is imo the main reason for declining birthrate.

Crisis? Have you seen the graphs. By 2050 there won't be any riceballs left 😂😂

If the elderly want new taxpayers to pay their pensions they need to vote and change society to support young people’s careers, home life and families.

I think Japan will be fine, despite the demographic changes. The level of growth they experienced from Meiji to Heisei was unsustainable from the start; now Japan is simply looking for its new demographic steady state.

Japan needs to address the societal and structural issues that led to the demographic collapse. Remedies like immigration, pro-natalist policies, etc are all good to certain extents but they are all ultimately temporary. In order to address the root issue, material conditions must improve for all Japanese, in order for them to even consider having children. I think degrowth is the most realistic pathway given the stagnant economy and concerns over the environment/climate. With degrowth, we could also see a sustained de-urbanization process, allowing for birthrates to naturally rise again. I think the old man at 1:55 is correct in that it's more of a cycle with periods of birth rates declining and then going up again.

Smartphones aren't really a problem in the grand scheme of things. But I can understand that reasoning. Something to really consider is that the current older generation did not really prepare their children for a situation like this. They also did not do things to prevent the current situation we're in. It makes it very difficult to do what is 'normal' to upkeep a society in terms of economy, population, job market, etc. A lot of people are struggling day-to-day. Dating let alone marriage, and even less children is the last thing a lot of people are thinking about. The cost of doing so just won't make sense and is not feasible. Another thing is that many working-age people are not able to afford buying a house so most either rent or stay/move back in with their parents. Overall this situation is commonplace around 'developed' nations and it's not going away.

I'm American, and though I probably won't have a large family, I still hope to have children in the near future. I still have to find meet the right man and marry lol.

It’s heartwarming to hear what these men and women are sharing here! I hope they do communicate with their loved, younger ones, sharing their insights and feelings with their loved (younger) ones. I also hope young men and women will take into consideration what their elders have to share. I believe Japan will navigate this population challenge well.

Sehr guter Beitrag!!!

Imagine not having elders who born before our parents, what happens to world then

There is also the increasing problem of infertility contributing to the decrease in pregnancies.

Baby boomer generation started to have less children as the government thinks that people will keep having 4 or 5 or even 8 to stop population increase too fast. However, what they did not account is the amount of people dieing was not as fast. Japan issue is not just not giving birth to not enough kids, it’s Aging population. Once the baby boomer generation die off, population of the developed countries will decline. That is good for many countries as this means less old people. The issue is never about too little people, it’s about not enough workers to support the last gen.

I worry about my pension and the future of my nephew. My country has so much money but it's not invested enough in elderly care, health care etc. We fuel the climate change industry instead. What a waste. No wonder people don't want to have children when they barely have enough money left for themselves.

9:16 This guy is great.

I think no one seems bothered by and it will continue... however, foreigners will take the initiative and mate with japanese women. Japanese men 90 percentile will stay the course, 10 percent will marry a American, western girl or a sweet pinay. Peace ✌

Looks like the gist of the problem is wide spread content around hardships of childcare and scaring young people from it.