Famous for its swordsmanship, anime, culture & unique food, Japan has distinguished itself on the world stage.
Image Credit: Image of Japanese Flag discovered on Kinashi-San.
Unfortunately, like many nations, Japan 🇯🇵 is experiencing a population decline, albeit faster than many nations.
Japan has the fastest-aging population of any post-industrial nation on earth. Its birth rate — the average number of children a woman typically has — started to decline in the 1970s. The country’s current birth rate is 1.3, according to data from the World Bank, well below the “replacement level” of just over two children per woman generally considered necessary to keep a population steady.
A survey conducted by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research in 2022 found that close to a fifth of men and about 15% of women in Japan expressed disinterest in marriage, the highest levels since 1982. Almost a third of men and a fifth of women in their fifties in Japan had never been married.
Via CBS News
Japan’s government has already vowed to take action to reverse this declining trend, & numerous experts have already submitted proposals on potential solutions.
While yours truly is not an expert in Japanese culture, economics, or language, it would be a tragic loss for the world if Japan 🇯🇵 faded from the world stage.
So, without further ado, here is a potential solution on how Japan can resolve its population decline without breaking the bank (note: video is long, so feel free to skip around via the chapters).
The government of Japan 🇯🇵 would provide helpful incentives to the population to encourage couples to not only get married but have multiple children as well.
The video above borrows “rankings” prominently featured in many games & anime to make it easier for viewers to process the information.
Bullet Point Summary Below:
- F-Rank: Unmarried Japanese citizens would be granted paid time off (PTO) on their birthday.
- E-Rank: Married Japanese citizens would be granted extra paid time off from work which includes
- Paid time off from work on their birthday
- Paid time off from work on their spouse’s birthday
- Paid time off from work on their wedding anniversary
- D-Rank: Married couple would “level up” after having their first child & receive additional benefits
- Married couples would receive paid time off from work on their child’s birthday
- Once per week at the taxpayer’s expense, the family would be eligible for a free house cleaning service (to make it easier on the family)
- Recap of PTO: Family would receive paid time off from work on each of the respective couple’s birthdays (two days), wedding anniversary & now child’s birthday (four days total)
- C-Rank: Married couple would “level up” again after having their second child & receive additional benefits
- Married couples would receive another paid time off day from work on their second child’s birthday
- Once per week (at taxpayer’s expense), the married couple would be eligible for free yard work service
- Couples can mix & match yard work with house cleaning. For example, they could have the house cleaned two days in one week, then receive free yard work two days the following week. They could also do both house cleaning & yard work the next week
- Recap of PTO: Family would receive paid time off from work on each of the respective couple’s birthdays (two days), their wedding anniversary, & both children’s birthdays (five days total)
- B-Rank: Married couple would “level up” again by having a third child & receive additional benefits
- Married couples would receive another paid time off day from work on their third child’s birthday
- Once per week (at tax payer’s expense) couple would receive a free “date night,” which includes eating at their favorite restaurant, an event (movie, dancing, or sporting event), & free babysitter to watch their kids
- Married couples could mix & match this with prior weekly offers: housework & yard work & now date night (they would have three options available throughout the week to mix & match to their heart’s content)
- Recap of PTO: Family would receive paid time off from work on each of their respective birthdays (two days), their wedding anniversary, & all three children’s birthdays (six days total)
- A-Rank: Married couple would “level up” again by having their fourth child & receive additional benefits
- Married couples would receive another paid time off day from work on their fourth child’s birthday
- Married couples would be eligible to receive a full body massage & makeover once a week at the taxpayer’s expense
- Married couples could mix & match these weekly benefits as they choose as they would have four options throughout the week: free housework, free yard work, free date night & now free massage plus makeover
- Recap of PTO: Family would receive paid time off from work on each of their respective birthdays (two days), their wedding anniversary, & all four of their kid’s birthdays (seven days total)
- S-Rank: Married couple would “level up” again after having their fifth child & receive the following benefits
- Married couples would receive another paid time off day from work on their fifth child’s birthday
- The family would be eligible for a free tutor once a week at tax payer’s expense
- The family could mix & match these weekly benefits as they choose as they would have five weekly options available throughout the week: free house cleaning, free yard work, free date night, free massage (plus makeover) & now free tutoring for their kids
- Recap of PTO: Family would receive paid time off from work on each of the couple’s respective birthdays (two days), their wedding anniversary, & all five of their kid’s birthdays (eight days total)
- SS-Rank: Married couple would “level up” again after having their sixth child & receive the following benefits
- Married couples would receive another paid time off day from work on the sixth child’s birthday
- The family would be eligible for a free amusement park ticket once a week for their entire family (unlimited rides & unlimited food). Government can limit the number of times this option is used (two or three times max per week) to avoid massive expenses
- The family could mix & match these weekly benefit offers as they choose as they would have six weekly options available throughout the week: free house cleaning, free yard work, free date night, free massage (plus makeover), free tutor & now free amusement park ticket for their family
- Recap of PTO: Family would receive paid time off from work on each of the couple’s respective birthdays (two days), their wedding anniversary, & all six of their kid’s birthdays (nine days total)
- SSS-Rank: the married couple would “level up” again after having their seventh child & receive the following benefits
- Married couples would receive another paid time off day from work on the seventh child’s birthday
- The family would be eligible for a free visit to a hot spring (including staying at an inexpensive hotel) at the taxpayer’s expense. The government could limit this to one or two times max per week (as this would become super expensive for the government)
- The family could mix & match these weekly benefit offers as they choose as they would have seven weekly options available throughout the week: free house cleaning, free yard work, free date night, free massage (plus makeover), free tutor, free amusement park ticket for family & now free hot springs for the family (inexpensive hotel price included)
- Once a year, the family would be eligible to fly anywhere in the world for vacation at taxpayer’s expense (tickets & hotel would be free for the entire family)
- Recap of PTO: Family would receive paid time off from work on each of the couple’s respective birthdays (two days), their wedding anniversary, & all seven of their kid’s birthdays (ten days total
How Would Japan 🇯🇵 Pay For These Weekly Benefits‽
Japan 🇯🇵 could help offset the cost of all of these weekly benefits by offering a Cultural Visa (the price would be up to Japan 🇯🇵), obtaining fees from Japanese citizens desiring to teach foreigners (citizens can use the additional job as a way to earn extra income) & by taxing Akiya or abandoned houses purchased by foreigners.
Summary of Cultural Visa & what it would entail:
- Foreigners would learn the language & culture of Japan 🇯🇵 from a Japanese citizen in their native country for a year before moving to Japan 🇯🇵
- Foreigners would also (if applicable) pay to learn a trade or skill needed in Japan 🇯🇵 so that when they enter the country, they would have a job available to them
Summary of Cultural Visa Teachers & what it would entail:
- The government would collect fees from Japanese citizens willing to teach foreigners (government needs to make sure Japanese citizens are qualified to teach)
- People in between jobs or those with lots of free time would be excellent candidates for this. Allow teachers to set their prices, but the government would collect a small fee from the classes taught
Summary of Akiya or Abandoned house sales tax (applies to foreigners only)
- Foreigners would pay 10% of the sale price of the Akiya housing
- This would be based on the house sale or final transaction, & not on the assumed value of the property
Final Thoughts
This proposal is not perfect, but if anyone has any suggestions, criticisms, or opinions about this potential solution, then they can either comment below or contact yours truly across various social platforms, which include:
- Misskey: @darnell
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- Instagram: instagram.com/Darnell
- Threads: @darnell@threads.net
- Email: contact@darnellclayton.com
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