News Alert:: Japanese too busy to have sex!

[Rick Nebiolo]

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This is pretty old, too. Its been talked about since the mid 90's when the birth rate started to slip.

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But apparently the situation has gotten worse. The birthrate of 1.25 children per woman (2.1 provides stable population) is apparently an all-time low. Couple this with an increasing lifespan and little immigration and one might conclude that Japan is in deep trouble (along with many European countries, check the links under Turnipmoster).

~ Rick

[Kintamayama]

No, this is usually sex of the non-baby-making sort.

Also, while it is well known that Japanese men are not adverse to venturing outside of their marriage for a little carnal pleasure, it is less well known that many bored Japanese housewives also engage in the same type of behavior while their husbands slave away in the office. Japan has an instittion called "telephone clubs," where housewives looking for such adventure sit in a room and field calls from men looking for afternoon hook-ups.

And of course, to facilitate such meetings, Japan has a ready supply of "love hotels" throughout the country, where willing parties can engage in their fun in a neutral and discreet environment.

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Will the non-spouses pick up the slack and have some babies or are the non-spouses somebody else's spouse?

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[andyfox]

When we rode the subway in Tokyo, we were struck by the percentage of passengers sleeping; much higher than in other countries. The cost of living in Tokyo is so high that more and more people have to live further and further out in the suburbs, so they're getting up earlier to catch the train and are, therefore, more tired.

Maybe this too is a factor. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[andyfox]

No, but one wonders exactly how they came up with the information.

[fnord_too]

[ QUOTE ]
No, this is usually sex of the non-baby-making sort.

Also, while it is well known that Japanese men are not adverse to venturing outside of their marriage for a little carnal pleasure, it is less well known that many bored Japanese housewives also engage in the same type of behavior while their husbands slave away in the office. Japan has an instittion called "telephone clubs," where housewives looking for such adventure sit in a room and field calls from men looking for afternoon hook-ups.

And of course, to facilitate such meetings, Japan has a ready supply of "love hotels" throughout the country, where willing parties can engage in their fun in a neutral and discreet environment.



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One wonders if any philandering husband has accidently hooked up with his wife this way...


"If you like pina coladas..."

[Rick Nebiolo]

[ QUOTE ]
When we rode the subway in Tokyo, we were struck by the percentage of passengers sleeping; much higher than in other countries. The cost of living in Tokyo is so high that more and more people have to live further and further out in the suburbs, so they're getting up earlier to catch the train and are, therefore, more tired.

Maybe this too is a factor. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

About ten years ago I remember reading some of James Fallows' commentary about Japan (and the rest of Asia) in an ongoing series in Atlantic Monthly articles. One oddity he described was that Japanese law protected farmland that was relatively close to downtown Tokyo. This led to many long commutes past the farms into suburbs even farther away. I wonder if you got far enough out on the commuter trains (or roads) to notice anything like this.

~ Rick

[Kintamayama]

My round trip commute during one span while living/working in Japan was three hours. Standard. And the situation you describe is quite normal. Many Japanese commute from neighboring Saitama and Chiba Prefectures over farmland into the heart of Tokyo. Two-to-four hour commutes will hardly raise an eyebrow. Oh yeah, and Japanese trains are wonderful places to catch up on a bit of sleep, if you're lucky enough to find a seat.

[SZEppi]

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US's current birthrate is right at replacement level (or close to it). Plus we have a large amount of immigration (not even counting illegal immigration, which the effects on economy I know very little about). And our economy is growing. So we're in OK shape economically speaking.

The reason a low birth rate hurts economically is very basic from a high level. In Europe, it's basically a bunch of cradle->grave welfare states. Unemployment rates are large. Work weeks in many countries are 30 hours a week, with 4-6 weeks guaranteed vacation and early retirement that bring with it expensive, lavish retirement packages provided by the gov't. Who pays? The workers, and the tax burdens are enormous. When your workforce is dwindling, it's clear that the burden per worker increases. So some will leave to find greater reward for their efforts. Some will simply say "screw it" and join the welfare crowd, seeing little benefit in working hard. Eventually it all collapses.

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Errrm, before you announce the death of the European (Scandinavian-type) welfare state due to declining populations, these states attract a fair amount of (illegal) immigration too. The 30-hour (this seems a little low, btw), labour friendly work-to-live mentality attracts almost as much immigrants as the American dream, live-to-work oriented mentality. And the amount of highly skilled workers and high potentials leaving for better pay elsewhere is not as large as you suggest. Done a little too much conservative reading lately? [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[kidcolin]

SZE,

Turnip asked for reasons low birthrates can have a negative economic effect. I provided it. Sure I was being general. I'm not trying to suggest there are no brilliant scientists at Oxford. Still, skilled workers seek better opportunities in America quite often. I'm an engineer. I'd say 75% of the people I work with are immigrants from India and east Asia.

I don't see how a large amount of illegal immigration helps an economy that has a large focus on taxes. Correct me if I'm wrong, but do illegal immigrants pay income tax? In addition, if illegal immigration is fueling your economy, you're in trouble, because they're typically bottom end workers. They're farmers, they're in restaurants, their cleaning streets. Those aren't the things that drive an economy.

[SZEppi]

Kidcollin,

I should say that I am by no means an expert on the subject, I just read a few books and took a few classes on the welfare state, 'new' globalised economies etc., but that was a while ago...
[img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

My point on the influx of (illegal) immigrants was that it is a way to counter falling birthrates and ageing workforces in European countries. The legals do contribute to tax revenue, if they work...

As for the illegal immigrants, some socio-economic theories state that typical low end service sector jobs (waiters, cleaners) are essential at facilitating economic growth at the top end of the economy (IT, specialised financial service sectors, etc.). The theory on global cities (Sassen) comes to mind. It's quite an interesting study if you're interested in this kind of macro-economics.

So the wave of immigrants is in fact necessary for growth of the economy in Western countries, because the jobs they do are typically frowned upon by the usually higher educated 'natives'.

I'm sorry if I don't express myself very well, but English is my second language...