Recently, an anonymous person criticized the current efforts of the Japanese government to combat the birth crisis, suggesting that instead of supporting those who want to be parents, Those who do not want to have children must be punished, especially single men over 30. In a leaked document, the author argues that monitor and punish single people who don't want to "settle down".

• «I would now like to address the third priority, which is measures to combat late marriages. The reasons why these measures are necessary have already been mentioned, but to summarize: There is a strong correlation between the number of children and the age at first marriage: the younger the age at first marriage, the more children one has, and the older the age at first marriage, the fewer the number of children. It is said that couples who do not have children often marry at an older age. The reason why people who want to have children give up is because they are relatively old. The later you get, the harder it is to get married.
• So what can be done to combat the trend towards late marriages? There are two possible solutions. Measures to encourage people to marry at an early age to avoid late marriages. Accept that late marriages are inevitable and take steps to reduce their negative effects. There are two types: The second option is obviously easier from a political point of view. Option 1 is important, but it is politically taboo and it is questionable whether it can be implemented in reality. On the other hand, the second option is easier to do because, in any statistic, the percentage of single people who want to get married increases with age at any given time, and when they reach a certain age, the percentage decreases.
• However, this is different from support for parents. In policy terms, it is often included under support for parenting, such as “expanding public assistance for infertility treatment.” What differentiates them from parental support is that childcare support, free classes, etc., are support provided “after birth”. In fact, these are considered ineffective and irrational measures to combat declining birth rates.
• Directly supporting people who want to have children but cannot would be effective, but for some reason this is not being adequately funded to address the declining birth rate. Given that there is a budget available to combat the decline in the birth rate, I think we should do everything we can. It is believed that this is not done because people with certain attributes do not speak out much in the political sphere and there are no social organizations that can speak on their behalf.».

Proposing punishments for single people over 30 who do not wish to marry presents several ethical and feasibility problems:

• Individual rights: The proposal goes against individual rights and personal freedoms. Imposing punishments for personal decisions, such as marital status, is a violation of privacy and basic human rights.
• Social acceptance: Such a drastic and coercive measure is unlikely to be accepted by Japanese society, which is known for valuing privacy and respect for personal decisions.
• Effectiveness: It is not clear that such coercive measures will have a positive impact on the birth rate. They are more likely to generate resentment and resistance.

Japan faces a serious birth rate crisis and an aging population. Birth rates have declined dramatically in recent decades and the population is ageing rapidly. This has led the government to seek various solutions, although not all of them have been successful or well received.

The government's approach so far has been support families through economic incentives and childcare services, but the results were not enough to reverse the trend. The proposal to punish single people reflects a desperation to find radical solutions are facing a problem that threatens to have serious long-term economic and social consequences.

In short, although the proposal to punish single people over 30 is extreme and probably unfeasible, underlines the urgency and gravity of Japan's birth rate crisis. It is crucial that more balanced measures that respect individual rights are found and implemented to address this problem.

Source: Yaraon!