Birth Rates Continue to Decline in East Asia
In recent years, countries in East Asia, especially China, Japan, and Korea, have faced an increasing challenge of declining birth rates, which are affecting the country’s economies, societies, and future generations. It is important to explore the reasons why this decline in birth rates is occurring and listen to how others view this issue.
Japan and Korea have faced this issue for more than a decade. Starting around 2010, Japan began to face a population crisis with aging people, a shrinking workforce, and an increasing elderly dependency ratio. According to the Statistics Bureau of Japan, 14.6% of the population is under 15, 67.9% are aged 15 through 64, and 17.3% are over 65, resulting in fewer young adults opting for parenthood.
Japan faces an increased cost of living: the core consumer prices rose by 3.1% in 2023, which is the fastest increase in 41 years. People are required to work longer hours, forming a demanding work culture in Japan. Long hours and limited work-life balance discourage couples from having children. The Japanese Labour Standards Act stipulates a regular work schedule of 40 hours per week, with a maximum of eight hours per day, but many people work longer hours.
Cultural norms and company expectations can influence work hours, and there is a diverse range of experiences among workers in Japan. Some individuals may work longer hours, especially in certain sectors known for demanding schedules. The high living costs, long working hours, and career-focused lifestyles deter individuals from starting families. Many perceive parenthood as incompatible with career advancement.
South Korea's problem started around the 2000s when a competitive work environment and lack of family-friendly policies contributed to low birth rates. According to The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development figures, the average working hours in South Korea is approximately 1,915 hours per year, which is roughly 52 hours per week on average for full-time workers. South Korea has been trying to reduce working hours, with data showing that Koreans now work 200 hours fewer than a decade ago. The demanding work culture makes balancing work and family life challenging for women, which causes the birth rate to decline.
In China, the decline in birth rates has been a relatively new issue. The National Bureau of Statistics stated that the number of people in China dropped by 2.08 million, or 0.15%, to 1.409 billion in 2023. This is China’s lowest birth rate since the Great Famine of 1961 during Mao’s Era.
Li Yan, a Chinese psychologist from Sichuan University, said, “Declining birth rate is an inevitable trend. It happens with the change of society. In farming, people need a lot of hard labor for plantation and war, so the role of men in the family is particularly important. However, with the development of technology, science, and medicine, people no longer need to make money through physical strength, so the power of women rises. In this society, women can also do men's things in all aspects. Once women have a voice, they can make their own decisions about reproduction, which is different from the past when economic power came from men. And as women have more opportunities, they have less time for family.”
Chinese teacher Catherine Lu said, “I was born and raised in China, and I think that it is normal for China’s birth rate to decrease because it is an inevitable step for developing countries. People might not have children because of the cost of having a child. Many young people just don’t want to get married. I know some of my friends back in Beijing where people are married or have a boyfriend, but they don’t have a child. When I came to America and contacted them, they still didn’t have children. They just want to live in the world of the two. They also don’t have to be concerned with problems like housing for school. The government has already made many changes to its politics, such as canceling afterschool tutoring to reduce the money, motivating people to have two or three children, and giving a lot of financial aid to help motivate people to give birth. But I feel like this trend is inevitable since people are having more choices.”
China’s economic growth has also slowed. When people cannot keep up with their cost of living, raising a child becomes a challenge. Rapid urbanization causes more people to move from the countryside to cities, and they often delay marriage and childbearing due to their career pursuits and financial constraints.
Humanities teacher April Smock said, “If I had done the breakdown economically, we never would have had children because it’s like a crazy expense. However, it could be that generationally, people are more intentional about how much it costs to have children. In the past, expectations were set in place, but now we’re accepting many different forms of relationships and ways to be in the world.”
Although relaxed in recent years, China's historical one-child policy has left a lasting impact. The policy aimed to limit population growth by restricting most urban couples to one child and allowing exemptions for certain circumstances, which created a preference for smaller families and influenced cultural attitudes towards childbirth. With fewer children being born, China has a larger aging population than the younger workforce. The one-child policy exacerbated gender imbalances due to cultural preferences for male offspring. Many families opted for sex-selective abortions or abandonment of female infants, resulting in a skewed gender ratio and societal consequences.
April said, “I know that China had a one-child policy and the United States has government intervention when it comes to reproductive rights. It’s very controversial to have the government step in.”
