If there is any issue that defines Japan, it is its demographic one. Among the youths, ever-fewer people choose to get married and have kids, while increasing longevity ensures that a bulging elderly population steadily increases the average age of the entire population. The presence of "herbivore" men (and women), defined by their almost complete lack of interest in romantic relationships, aggravates the problem into something that is not easily corrected by simple incentives for bigger families. The mentality of the population has dramatically shifted to one that questions the very virtue of family life.
For many older Japanese, the shifting mentality of the youths is lamentable, not simply because of the fact that there are ever fewer children being borne in the country. Many practical-minded analysts have come to see the issue as a fundamentally economic one, where, even if structural integrity is maintained, there is plenty of drag on economic growth. The argument comes down why a person is incentivized to work hard and produce economic value in the first place. For many older people, in Japan and elsewhere, the answer has inevitably been the need to secure a better life for the family and brighter future for the kids.
But that incentive goes away among many of the youths who have little incentive to have families to begin with. There is no doubt that single life is much cheaper than one with a whole family, so singletons become quite content with working less, earning less, and still living relatively comfortably by themselves. The fact that have no desire to escape singlehood means that there is little reason for the singletons to work harder to attain promotions and higher salaries. Being more or less comfortable with the economic status quo leads to ineffectiveness of any incentives to raise productivity.
Simultaneously, a population of singles consume less in aggregate compared to a same-sized population of married people. Married people simply have many more social occasions where large expenditures are required. Anniversaries call for dinner in nice restaurants and exchange of expensive gifts, kids' birthdays require celebrations, and family vacations are needed to bring its members emotionally together. While singles also eat, celebrate, and travel, the lack of certain social obligations associated with those activities for them means that they can easily skimp on the details, or not even do them, in order to save money.
The fact that singles are not incentivized to make more money takes away the greatest advantages of singles as productive members of the economy. Because they do not have families, they can work in more flexible hours and more in absolute terms if needed. And because they do not have families to feed and clothe, they can spare more of their income for leisure and other activities that cash- and time-strapped families simply cannot afford. But if singletons are unwilling to work more and earn more, then they are unlikely to take advantage of those benefits of being single.
So it begs the question of what needs to be done more to ensure singles do more for the economy in terms of both producing and consuming. As much as creative ideas are needed, in the author's humble opinion, good old-fashioned romance still is the more effective method to motivate singles. There simply is not like the need to impressive other people for the purpose of romance that make people energetic and excited for the monotony of daily life and then try to improve upon it. For love, people are willing to sacrifice their time and money in degrees that no other reason even come close.
Of course, the government here is not oblivious to the power of romance to create productivity. Yet in their efforts to push for more romance among the indifferent youths of the country, Japanese bureaucrats have been too exclusively focused on the financial cost-and-benefits of being single vs married. They keep trying to change the balance by offering various tax incentives, subsidies, and straight-up payouts for people to get hitched and have kids. The reality, however, is that no amount of money can compensate for the amount of sheer effort and opportunity costs associated with maintaining a family, especially in the eyes of the skeptical youths.
Instead, governments should be cooperating with private firms to change the very attitude toward romance and marriage held by the youths. More media companies should broadcast the joys of (real) love while more restaurants can offer couple-friendly environments. Governments, instead of handing out money to married people, should be investing in singles meetup events across the nation, in order to give people who want to meet people but have few venues to do so more opportunities for romance. Only with combined efforts from all walks of society can contentment with poor single-hood gradually fade away.
For many older Japanese, the shifting mentality of the youths is lamentable, not simply because of the fact that there are ever fewer children being borne in the country. Many practical-minded analysts have come to see the issue as a fundamentally economic one, where, even if structural integrity is maintained, there is plenty of drag on economic growth. The argument comes down why a person is incentivized to work hard and produce economic value in the first place. For many older people, in Japan and elsewhere, the answer has inevitably been the need to secure a better life for the family and brighter future for the kids.
But that incentive goes away among many of the youths who have little incentive to have families to begin with. There is no doubt that single life is much cheaper than one with a whole family, so singletons become quite content with working less, earning less, and still living relatively comfortably by themselves. The fact that have no desire to escape singlehood means that there is little reason for the singletons to work harder to attain promotions and higher salaries. Being more or less comfortable with the economic status quo leads to ineffectiveness of any incentives to raise productivity.
Simultaneously, a population of singles consume less in aggregate compared to a same-sized population of married people. Married people simply have many more social occasions where large expenditures are required. Anniversaries call for dinner in nice restaurants and exchange of expensive gifts, kids' birthdays require celebrations, and family vacations are needed to bring its members emotionally together. While singles also eat, celebrate, and travel, the lack of certain social obligations associated with those activities for them means that they can easily skimp on the details, or not even do them, in order to save money.
The fact that singles are not incentivized to make more money takes away the greatest advantages of singles as productive members of the economy. Because they do not have families, they can work in more flexible hours and more in absolute terms if needed. And because they do not have families to feed and clothe, they can spare more of their income for leisure and other activities that cash- and time-strapped families simply cannot afford. But if singletons are unwilling to work more and earn more, then they are unlikely to take advantage of those benefits of being single.
So it begs the question of what needs to be done more to ensure singles do more for the economy in terms of both producing and consuming. As much as creative ideas are needed, in the author's humble opinion, good old-fashioned romance still is the more effective method to motivate singles. There simply is not like the need to impressive other people for the purpose of romance that make people energetic and excited for the monotony of daily life and then try to improve upon it. For love, people are willing to sacrifice their time and money in degrees that no other reason even come close.
Of course, the government here is not oblivious to the power of romance to create productivity. Yet in their efforts to push for more romance among the indifferent youths of the country, Japanese bureaucrats have been too exclusively focused on the financial cost-and-benefits of being single vs married. They keep trying to change the balance by offering various tax incentives, subsidies, and straight-up payouts for people to get hitched and have kids. The reality, however, is that no amount of money can compensate for the amount of sheer effort and opportunity costs associated with maintaining a family, especially in the eyes of the skeptical youths.
Instead, governments should be cooperating with private firms to change the very attitude toward romance and marriage held by the youths. More media companies should broadcast the joys of (real) love while more restaurants can offer couple-friendly environments. Governments, instead of handing out money to married people, should be investing in singles meetup events across the nation, in order to give people who want to meet people but have few venues to do so more opportunities for romance. Only with combined efforts from all walks of society can contentment with poor single-hood gradually fade away.
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