Christine Moon

June 16, 2010

A Reflection of the Immigrant Narrative through Japan’s Population Crisis

Japan is known to be one of the world’s leaders when it comes to technological advancements. Now, they are leading the world in a new path that has developed into the discovery of a severe and startling decline in the nation’s population. Japan is now the leader in a devastating population crisis; the population has been rapidly shrinking since 2005, with 21,000 deaths within the year, and 75,000 deaths in 2009. Other Asian countries are following in its footsteps, as social, economical, political, and global changes are occurring. With these changes, Asian females in particular are taking part in a rapid trend: to live their own lives outside of the traditional idea of motherhood, and their roles as a doting and obedient wife. Japan, a fiercely homogenous nation, is not accepting foreigners and immigrants. With the number of senior citizens being the highest in Japan than anywhere else in the world, and women not participating in motherhood, the replenishment of Japan’s society is on a downward spiral toward population doom.

In The Washington Post, the article suggests that the United States is able to sustain and maintain higher birth rates due to immigration. For a population to “hold steady,” a woman must “give birth on average to 2.1 children” (Hiatt 12). The BBC News has dubbed Japan a “ticking time bomb” (Jones 56). Though Japan’s birth rates were falling for about half a century, it is within the last ten years that it has shrunk drastically. In 2006, the estimated average life expectancy was 82, and in 2007, two-thirds of Japan’s population was between the ages of 15 and 64; it is predicted that by 2050, that figure will be around fifty percent. Women, for centuries, were viewed as homemakers, raising their children and looking after their families. Their education and career options were limited, as child bearing and child rearing were usually a part of a woman’s job description. With society and its expectations changing, women have found a voice in Asia after centuries of being buried beneath the names of their husbands and fathers. Women are enjoying their education, often pursuing advanced degrees and being promoted to higher ranks in the job market. They are beginning to make their own money rather than living off of their husband’s, and are indulging in their own material desires for the first time. With this newfound freedom, many women go well into their 30’s without thinking of marriage, let alone children. Surveys show that they would rather “study and work instead of having kids” (Hiatt 16).

With immigration at a standstill, citizens of Japan are well aware that the government cannot keep forcing women to bear children. A study by Julian Chapple, a lecturer at Kyoto Sangyo University, indicates that Japan would need to “bring in a massive 343,000 immigrants annually until 2050,” to keep the population from declining at this rapid rate. This means that “by 2050, thirty percent of Japan’s population would be foreign immigrants” (Chapple 7). When interviewed, Japanese citizens stated that by keeping immigrants and foreigners out, there would be less crime and danger. Women between the ages of 26-35, prefer male company at “host bars,” with whom they can have fun conversations—which they have indicated they cannot have with a man who is their husband. With motherhood on a steep decline, and the number of senior citizens in Japan on the rise, Japan fears for its economical struggles in the upcoming future.

Women are now living what can be considered “the American Dream” in their own countries, such as Japan. Without leaving their native land, they are exploring on their own, a type of immigrant narrative: escaping the old world in search of their new world. We can perceive the “dominant culture” to be old tradition that have held Asian women hostage for so long. Japanese women have said that they feel taken advantage of, with having to maintain all responsibilities of having and raising children; Japanese men feel less inclined to participate in raising children because they feel that it is the mother’s purpose to do so. It is safe to say that this is a celebration for women. However, it has come at an undeniable cost. The suffering number of inhabitants of Japan is a critical issue worldwide, and it is unfair to criticize women for being at fault. Though it is unclear when Japan will accept opening their doors to immigrants, it will be another long, hard journey for the foreigners who will struggle to be accepted by the Japanese. Perhaps the real journey lies in the constant battle to overcome the “dominant culture,” and every journey and story of those who have conquered this battle will become the story of the “immigrant narrative.”

Works Cited

Chapple, Julian. “The Dilema Posed by Japan’s Population Decline.” Kyoto Sangyo University

            Press: Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies (2004):1-21. Print.

Hiatt, Fred. “Japan Shrinks.” The Washington Post. 20 November 2006, pp. 12-16. Print.

Jones, Albert. “Japan Eyes Demographic Time Bomb.” BBC News: Editorial. 19 November

            2007, pp. 50-56. Print.

Yamaguchi, Adam. “Population Decline Worsening.” The Japan Times Online. 15 January 2010.

            14 June 2010 < http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20100115a2.html>.