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Several of the examples in the article hinted at familial estrangement, which makes things much worse. I lived in Taiwan, which also has a stagnant birth rate
by ilamont 7y ago
Several of the examples in the article hinted at familial estrangement, which makes things much worse.
I lived in Taiwan, which also has a stagnant birth rate (only 181,606 births last year, https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3611847 https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3611847) and a decades-long trend for young people to migrate to the large cities, or go to China to try their fortunes there.
But there is also a strong tradition of multi-generational households and traditions/holidays that emphasize family relations or filial piety, Lunar New Year being the most obvious. Certainly, family strife exists (and can be exacerbated if people are forced to live together) and many seniors live alone, but I think because of the cultural emphasis on familial contact, there is also a level of contact and awareness that can mitigate the extreme situations described in the article. Being smaller also helps (most cities on the island are no more than two or three hours away by high-speed rail).
In recent decades, there has also been a trend to legally allow foreign caregivers (mostly Filipinos and Indonesians) for people aged 85 and up, and tacitly allow for foreign caregivers for younger seniors and wealthy families. I am not sure how Taiwan's national health system covers those costs, or if the elderly poor can afford them.
Does Japan have any similar system of allowing foreign caregivers?
- eska 7y agoI don't know how the Taiwanese system works, but there are government programs to bring foreign nurses to Japan. https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/06/19/japan-to-directly-recruit-ph-nurses/ https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/06/19/japan-to-directly-recruit-... There is however strong criticism about the strict immigration requirements, e.g. learning supposedly high level Japanese in only a few years. This allegedly leads to nurses only staying in Japan temporarily, leaving, then going through the same program again. This then apparently bars them from benefits that Japanese citizens would have, although they stay in Japan for years.
- lacampbell 7y agoI am secretly looking forward to the Japanese style rural depopulation that seems inevitable in Taiwan. Real estate there is hugely expensive - especially considering the low quality.
- gyc 7y ago> Several of the examples in the article hinted at familial estrangement, which makes things much worse. Yes as somebody from a Taiwanese family that also really stuck out from the article. The daughter in Tokyo only seeing the father once a year? Seems like there are deeper problems there.
- fooblitzky 7y agoMaybe the culture of extremely long work hours alienated the father from his family?
- sjg007 7y agoLol.. I see my mom like once every 3 years and my Dad maybe once year. This is in America. With work and kids and living in different states and countries it financially impossible to get everyone together. I hardly saw my grandparents too so it’s not abnormal necessarily.
- jseliger 7y agohinted at familial estrangement, which makes things much worse This article appeared on HN a few weeks ago: https://www.city-journal.org/decline-of-family-loneliness-epidemic https://www.city-journal.org/decline-of-family-loneliness-ep... and has stayed with me. Perhaps it'll stay with me forever.
- cydonian_monk 7y agoWow, I missed that one. The first several paragraphs make it read like something I need to sit down and give some undivided focus. Seems very well written. I can certainly offer some anecdata to it. My family died 20 years ago with my grandmother. (Or rather it _really_ died when the question came up of who should care for my Alzheimer's-afflicted grandfather.) Before then we were a tightly-knit group; after, a rapidly unrolled ball of yarn. And as the only child of two divorced (since I was 2 weeks old!) and bitter parents, that was basically it for me. I'm occasionally in contact with a couple of my cousins, but largely I seem to have just ceased to exist to most of them. Guess I fit the new statistic.
- spaceflunky 7y agoWhat's up with all these children hating their parents? Not judging but genuinely curious. Is something in the culture? A lot of these people who die alone with unclaimed bodies have children. Why don't the children care?