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Comment by discardorama | Hacker News Reader

I keep reading about the decline of the Japanese population, and I wonder: what are the major causes of people not producing enough kids? Is it that there's not enough bonking going on? Stress from work? Long hours at the office? I mean, sex is one of the most fun activities nature has given us, for free. Why aren't enough Japanese having sex? Is it something in the culture? The comics, maybe?

This is a serious question. I often wonder why something that worked for millions of years, is suddenly not working.

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Many reasons. Women don't want to marry because they don't want to stay at home and raise kids and take care of in-laws. Men don't want to marry because they don't want to have to support a family and give up control of the finance to the women. Work consists of 8 hour shifts and mandatory overtime up to 3 hour or more. Which means the culture is not spontaneous and everything gets planned well in advance. Guys are friends with only guys, girls only girls(mostly) so not much chance to meet and spend time with the other sex. Starting salary is low and advances with age. In your 20s you make about 20k a year in your 30s 30k.

Sorry for format, on phone at work and new to the site. I will try and post something better when I can get on my computer.

The problem isn't that they aren't having sex, but rather than they're using birth control while doing so. Having children is a very conscious decision in this day and age, and the Japanese are on average not living in fantastic conditions for raising children. Wages which haven't risen in real terms for ~20 years, little paid maternity leave (or none?), small living spaces, and many others.

Of course there are the Hikkikomori issue (young people who shut themselves in their room and never leave) and Soushoku danshi (men who take no interest in pursuing the opposite sex and forming relationships), two rather small factors reducing the birth rate further.

But ultimately I think the economic issues are the biggest. Japan just isn't prosperous anymore, and people don't feel wealthy enough.

Kids are a pain in the ass. Before they happened automatically, as long as you had sex. Now they're optional. Lots of people are opting out of the hassle.

That's my two cents, at least.

Evolution selected for "likes sex" because that was a good proxy for "wants kids".

Some new proxy will take place of the old, or we'll be more directly selected based on a "wants kids" desire. Given the huge world population, the needed trait likely exists. In time, it will become near-universal.

If woman have children their careers are over in a very competitive society. And there is no child support from the government.

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