Japan Hates Babies

Panasonic Shinnyuushiki The internets are divided on whether Albert Einstein or Benjamin Franklin said, "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."  Either way, Huffington Post reports on a batshit insane way Japanese researchers are trying to smite the infamously low birthrate of of that nation's citizens:

Can a robotic baby encourage couples to reproduce--and help Japan boost its low birth rate?

Researchers, who have created a cooing, crying, sneezing baby simulator named "Yotaro," hope so.

They hope that the infant-like machine will "trigger human emotions" that make couples "want to have their own baby," CNN reports.

In an effort to increase the birth rate, Japan's government is offering to pay families a monthly stipend per child, but the leaders of the Yotaro project believe the "robotic encouragement" may be more effective.

What's keeping Japan's birthrate so low is (1) the cancerous nature of its work culture, (2) the disdain with which employers treat employees who want to take time off to care for children, and (3) youth resentment fed by the government throwing money at any warm body that has a baby.  

(1) After the economy hit the fan in the early 1990s, Japan Inc. responded by working longer and harder, doubling-down on public works and concrete production, and replacing paid holidays with mandatory overtime.  This is reinforced by a work culture that regards other countries as "soft on work".  Like being "soft on crime", "soft on terror", or "soft on drugs", being "soft on work" is socially and politically unpalatable in Japan, unless you're that guy who rides his motorcycle loudly in front of my house everyday at 3:00 A.M.  He clearly doesn't give a shit. 

(2) There is no long-term economic perspective, for when this generation of wage slaves and wage slavers retires, there will be no one to provide their pensions.  Japan, Inc. hates babies and loves short-term profits: fathers are given no time off to attend the birth of children, and are fired for asking.  Indeed, nearly every father I know in Japan has run into trouble at work for taking the day off because his baby is sick.  One friend was recently fired for doing it "too much". 

It's worse for mothers; my newlywed friend's wife was recently warned by her boss not to get pregnant, or she'd be fired.  If she wanted to have a baby, she'd have to wait until 2014, when the company's expected to be back in black, (and she'll be in her mid-thirties).  Another friend was ostracized and given the silent treatment by coworkers when she found herself prego.  A third was fired for "dress-code violations" the day before she would have qualified for company-subsidized maternity leave.

(3) These reports are all anecdotal, and so can't really be taken at face-value by rational minds, and I know I'm making a very strong claim here, but, if you doubt me, go to ni channeru and type in the word 妊婦 (ninpu - pregnant woman).  Or, you can just click here, since I've done it for you, and had it translated into English, although a vast amount is lost in Google translation.

Perhaps there is reason behind Japanese social and institutional hatred of babies.  The Japanese government's desperation over the last several years has caused it to throw ever-greater sums of money at families.  If you're exceptionally good at paperwork, you can actually be paid money to have a child in Japan, and then collect 15,000 yen ($150) a month forever afterwards.  Even so, this financial incentive doesn't really compensate for being fired.  

Perhaps this has bred some resentment in the youth of the nation.  Old people slack off and coast on tenure, and families siphon money from the tax pool, while young people get hazed and bullied by their superiors, get blamed for Japan's economic problems, and are forced to waste the time they could be out partying and meeting potential mates by working double-shifts on Saturday.

The solution is more pro-labor laws, and working smarter, not harder.  Employers should respond to news of employee pregnancy with "congratulations!" and flowers, not pink slips.  Co-workers should ostracize employers who don't respect new life, not pregnant mothers.

Comments

[tracey foglia]

Hey chris. I like ur post. First time I followed a link off ur fb page! Hope all is well.

P.s. Go duke!

[Christopher Carr]

Hey Tracy,

I'm glad you enjoyed the post. It's kind of a break from what I usually cover here. Be sure to check out the main site as well. We're goin places! Go Duke indeed.