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My thoughts on the topic after reading the article, which made gold points, especially on the low internal migration rate and women not working, but staying at

My thoughts on the topic after reading the article, which made gold points, especially on the low internal migration rate and women not working, but staying at home and taking care of household and family. The West has followed the path of freedom and free markets. The smallest unit in society is the individual, not the family (like in Asian countries). Freedom here is being celebrated, also by having the kid "finally" moving out at 18+. Those who stay are not doing it for cultural, but mostly for economical reasons. Taking care of elderly people is not very "cool" here in Germany. My friends haven't called or visited their grandmas for many months, while my Chinese friends try to use their holidays to visit home. They are also planning longterm how to move closer together and incorporate those thoughts into the partner selection. The Western approach is different and get often "it's me and it's my happiness".

bsder 5y ago
> My thoughts on the topic after reading the article, which made gold points, especially on the low internal migration rate and women not working, but staying at home and taking care of household and family. Japan is absolutely horrible to its women. Women are expected to take care of their family, their own elderly relatives and their husband's elderly relatives. It's one of the many reasons why so many Japanese women are refusing to marry and have families. Maybe the US doesn't have it right, but, with respect to its women, Japan has it very wrong. The biggest problem with the US is that you need a car to do anything. This includes things from basic groceries to the doctor. That's terribly limiting to the elderly.
- nradov 5y ago
  Women in China are also increasingly refusing to get married for the same reason. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/29/china/china-millennials-marriage-intl-hnk/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/29/china/china-millennials-marri...
- notsureaboutpg 5y ago
- mrkentutbabi 5y ago
  Really? very wrong? Have you ever talked to the average Japanese women and see how they want it? This is why westerners will always be a gaijin.
  - TheGigaChad 5y ago
- px43 5y ago
  Just one data-point, but my Japanese friend who lives in Japan just finished up her ONE YEAR maternity leave, so there are definitely a few things that they do much better than the US. The 6 weeks before the due date is also required by law to be protected leave as well, but most places do more. The US simply doesn't have any protected leave at all, which is incredibly hostile to women trying to contribute to the labor force.
  - fomine3 5y ago
    Big corps are tend to be good, small local corps tend to be bad for maternity leave. They don't want employee to leave even though it's guaranteed right and they don't pay salary but insurance pay some money.
msh 5y ago
Well the women defacto being "forced" to not work part is more, women sacrificing their freedom to make life easier for the men.
- 88840-8855 5y ago
  CORRECT! And this is what perplexes me so much. I lived in Japan and saw this with my own eyes, it was such an ultra conservative society, especially in respect how women are treated. And then you meet Western people who adore, even feteshize Japan SO heavily without reflecting anything what is going on. People have to understand that most of the things they love in Japan (cleaness, extreme degree of quality in customer service, orderliness) is due to those ultra conservative values and norms. Hence, I am very critical towards Japan and I find people naive who one the one hand adore Japan so much (also the super conservative government) and at the same time hate the Chinese values, system and even people.
  - fxtentacle 5y ago
    It might be that this is so fetishized in western culture precisely because there are many people who are conservative but cannot find a socially appropriate outlet for it. Try saying "The man should work to feed the family, the woman should raise the kids." on American TV ;) But I'm sure there are Americans (of both genders) who feel like that is how they would want their marriage to be. Similarly, Japanese women are usually portrayed as very submissive in Anime and Japanese movies. Probably, some people find that sexually attractive, or else they wouldn't do it. Looking at what westerners desire of Japanese culture might be a good way to find suppressed urges in the western culture. Whether or not we as society decide to act on that knowledge is a different question.
    - throwaway91822 5y ago
      I studied Japanese and met maybe a hundred people that love Japanese culture. I never met any who would approve of the sexism, xenophobia or crazy work culture. Most people love the aesthetics, literature, history, architecture, food, music... I think you are describing a certain far-right weaboo subculture, but that's just a pocket of 4chan inanity.
goodpoint 5y ago
> having the kid "finally" moving out at 18+. You are generalizing aspects of US to the whole "west". Statistics show the opposite: in most EU countries people don't leave home at 18 by far. Also family is important in many EU cultures and people visit close relatives often.
- jmrm 5y ago
  In the same comment you can read: > Those who stay are not doing it for cultural, but mostly for economical reasons. If you look statistics about young adults leaving home, and young adults who doesn't have a job (or don't earn enough to buy or rent a house), the correlation is pretty hard.
  - goodpoint 5y ago
    In the US, yes. In other cultures no.
  - fxtentacle 5y ago
    In the US, yes. In Asia, no. In Europe, it depends.

bsder 5y ago

> My thoughts on the topic after reading the article, which made gold points, especially on the low internal migration rate and women not working, but staying at home and taking care of household and family. Japan is absolutely horrible to its women. Women are expected to take care of their family, their own elderly relatives and their husband's elderly relatives. It's one of the many reasons why so many Japanese women are refusing to marry and have families. Maybe the US doesn't have it right, but, with respect to its women, Japan has it very wrong. The biggest problem with the US is that you need a car to do anything. This includes things from basic groceries to the doctor. That's terribly limiting to the elderly.

nradov 5y ago
Women in China are also increasingly refusing to get married for the same reason. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/29/china/china-millennials-marriage-intl-hnk/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/29/china/china-millennials-marri...
notsureaboutpg 5y ago
mrkentutbabi 5y ago
Really? very wrong? Have you ever talked to the average Japanese women and see how they want it? This is why westerners will always be a gaijin.
- TheGigaChad 5y ago
px43 5y ago
Just one data-point, but my Japanese friend who lives in Japan just finished up her ONE YEAR maternity leave, so there are definitely a few things that they do much better than the US. The 6 weeks before the due date is also required by law to be protected leave as well, but most places do more. The US simply doesn't have any protected leave at all, which is incredibly hostile to women trying to contribute to the labor force.
- fomine3 5y ago
  Big corps are tend to be good, small local corps tend to be bad for maternity leave. They don't want employee to leave even though it's guaranteed right and they don't pay salary but insurance pay some money.

msh 5y ago

Well the women defacto being "forced" to not work part is more, women sacrificing their freedom to make life easier for the men.

88840-8855 5y ago
CORRECT! And this is what perplexes me so much. I lived in Japan and saw this with my own eyes, it was such an ultra conservative society, especially in respect how women are treated. And then you meet Western people who adore, even feteshize Japan SO heavily without reflecting anything what is going on. People have to understand that most of the things they love in Japan (cleaness, extreme degree of quality in customer service, orderliness) is due to those ultra conservative values and norms. Hence, I am very critical towards Japan and I find people naive who one the one hand adore Japan so much (also the super conservative government) and at the same time hate the Chinese values, system and even people.
- fxtentacle 5y ago
  It might be that this is so fetishized in western culture precisely because there are many people who are conservative but cannot find a socially appropriate outlet for it. Try saying "The man should work to feed the family, the woman should raise the kids." on American TV ;) But I'm sure there are Americans (of both genders) who feel like that is how they would want their marriage to be. Similarly, Japanese women are usually portrayed as very submissive in Anime and Japanese movies. Probably, some people find that sexually attractive, or else they wouldn't do it. Looking at what westerners desire of Japanese culture might be a good way to find suppressed urges in the western culture. Whether or not we as society decide to act on that knowledge is a different question.
  - throwaway91822 5y ago
    I studied Japanese and met maybe a hundred people that love Japanese culture. I never met any who would approve of the sexism, xenophobia or crazy work culture. Most people love the aesthetics, literature, history, architecture, food, music... I think you are describing a certain far-right weaboo subculture, but that's just a pocket of 4chan inanity.

goodpoint 5y ago

> having the kid "finally" moving out at 18+. You are generalizing aspects of US to the whole "west". Statistics show the opposite: in most EU countries people don't leave home at 18 by far. Also family is important in many EU cultures and people visit close relatives often.

jmrm 5y ago
In the same comment you can read: > Those who stay are not doing it for cultural, but mostly for economical reasons. If you look statistics about young adults leaving home, and young adults who doesn't have a job (or don't earn enough to buy or rent a house), the correlation is pretty hard.
- goodpoint 5y ago
  In the US, yes. In other cultures no.
- fxtentacle 5y ago
  In the US, yes. In Asia, no. In Europe, it depends.