Japan’s Countermeasures against Low Birth Rates: Male Involvement in Household Chores and Childrearing

Abstract

This article aims to explore Japan’s countermeasures against low birth rates, focusing on its public policy that seeks to involve men in household chores and childrearing activity. To grasp the Japanese government’s perspective on low birth rates, the study employs official documents such as policy white papers, laws, government-sponsored printed media or publications while concentrating the period of study on the 1990s henceforth, when the Japanese society has felt the enormity of the issue. Vividly echoed by the “1.57 shock” buzzword worriedly portrayed in the Japanese media, drastic decreases in birth rates for the first time since the end of World War II did put pressure on the Japanese government to put forward policies to address the issue for the first time. Over the past three decades, the Japanese government, despite its inability to root out the problem, has been continually implementing such policies, with the latest initiative being involving men in childrearing. While still unable to completely resolve the issue, the initiative introduced a novelty concept into household chores and childrearing sphere amidst the waves of change.