Comments by "" (@rsuriyop) on "Japan’s Aging Crisis - The Solutions" video.

  1. More foreigners in Japan will destroy the country, culturally and certainly ethnically. How will it feel if (or when) Japanese people end up becoming a minority in their own country in a future dominated by both non-Japanese and mixed Japanese people? Also, think about the kinds of major race-related problems that diverse nations like the U.S. and Brazil currently face. Trust me, you DON'T want to have this kind of problem on your plate; please be happy with what you are already have - while you still have it.
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  2. This explanation as to why Japanese aren't having kids runs counter to what someone else had told me. He is a foreigner who said he's been living in Japan for over 30 years and has had 5 kids over there. So I had to ask him how was he able to have that many children over there if the average Japanese couple can't even afford to have one? This is what he had to say (direct quote): "The low birthrate is a symptom of affluence and the modern age. The countries with the highest birthrates are the most impoverished. Japanese families are still having children, just not 3~5 like two generations ago. People are getting married later in life. More young people are less interested in traditional paths in life. Consumerism and online virtual experiences occupy their attention. The birthrate hit it's lowest point in 2005 @ 1.25 children per women of childbearing age. It has levelled off to between 1.43~1.47 over the past decade, which is prudent considering we are at the cusp of an age in which AI and mass-automation will have made 50% of current jobs obsolete within the next 25 years. Japan has a population of 126.3 million on an archipelago roughly the size of California which has a population of 40 million. 80% of Japan's land is mountainous, there is relatively little arable land, so a decrease in population is actually a good thing, especially considering the circumstances regarding AI and mass-automation. That said, there are still a huge portion of people like myself who eventually gravitate to a traditional family life."
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  3. Japan's aging problem will correct itself naturally once the current baby boomer generation dies off. Which is basically where this whole problem stems from (i.e. a huge spike in births between 1946 and 1964). Seems that far too many people are worried about this issue when really all it is is short term generational hiccup that will eventually pass. Either way, no need to swing the doors wide open to foreign immigration which would create more problems than actually solve down the road.
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  4. Ironically, for some people work actually keeps them alive. I remember hearing a story about a man who worked at the same bus terminal for 76 years, deciding to finally retire at age 100 - but then died less than a month later. It sounds crazy, right? But I think certain kinds of work provides a healthy stimulant to keep the mind and body going. Also, there might be some truth to the saying that "boredom kills," at least for people who manage to live for so long.
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  5. Actually, read the comments here.. Most of the commenters would agree with this position.
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  6. This aging population issue in Japan will only be a temporary thing. Think about it. If Japanese birth rates are really low right now, then that could only mean that there will be a lot fewer elderly people to take care of in the future once the current younger generation becomes elderly themselves. Right now, this is just a short term hiccup that the country will have to deal with due to the enormous rise of the baby boomer generation. But once that generation dies off, the problem will correct itself. Too many people seem to be worried about the issue right now and I get it. But they aren't thinking far ahead in the future (which is very typical of human nature).
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  7. The U.S. following WWII completely restructured everything in Japan from the ground up, but could not change the general Japanese mindset (did they even try?). I remember hearing an elderly Japanese politician once saying, "You can change Japan. But you cannot change Japanese people." How true that is.
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  8.  @alexvig2369  Exactly. And it should also be just as important to point out that this whole "aging" demographic issue in Japan is being blown out of proportion. A lot of other countries are experiencing this, not just Japan due to the spike in births stemming from the baby boomer generation. Just wait for this generation to slowly die out and things will gradually get back to normal without needing the aid of foreigners. Either way, Japanese people are NOT "dying out" or "disappearing" like the media is trying to make out. To me it sounds more like Japan is just simply being shamed or pressured by western media in to taking in more immigrants. I just hope that they don't give in.
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  9. Since I have no way to plead to Japanese politicians directly all I could do (sadly) is make as much noise in YT comment sections as possible - and that is to NOT import more foreigners in to the country as that will ultimately create more problems than actually solve and will be irreversible!
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  10.  @Greenforrest7342  Why is Japan allowing this? They don't care about their future?
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  11. Not a good move, especially since more Chinese hate Japanese than Koreans hate Japanese; it would create a lot of social unrest. Plus, importing more Chinese to Japan would make Japan more susceptible to a Chinese takeover. No thanks.
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  12.  @Greenforrest7342  Stop importing people from those countries or you will be replaced. Have more babies instead.
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  13. Wait, so you were once an advisor to the Japanese government who advocated for international integration in to their country? No offense, but you are a poisonous influence for the country and I'm very happy that you're no longer in that kind of position. Japanese culture and identity is unique and needs to be protected at all cost. So too with any other country that hasn't yet bent down to the destruction of cultural and ethnic diversity.
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  14.  @NStalgia070  This comment scares me :(
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  15.  @NStalgia070  How easy it is for foreigners to stake a permanent residence in Japan and how it's already happening right now. It's all over :(
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  16. Chinese and Koreans already consists of the two largest foreign groups in Japan. And in the case of S. Korea in particular, they also have their own baby shortage problem to worry about (which I think is even worse than Japan).
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  17. But it doesn't necessarily have to be this way if immigration in to the country is more strictly controlled.
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  18. Japan already has foreigners. What makes you think they have no foreigners at all I find to be very odd; every country in the world has at least some immigrants, even if their populations may be very small. It's just a question of how many more are they willing to let in.
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  19. But the thing is, this sort of predicament that Japan (and similarly, most every other country) is in is something that should've been expected from the get-go due to the baby boomer explosion; Japan and those other countries just simply need to wait to get over that hump (though hard as it may be). Importing more foreign workers will just exacerbate the current issue even further once those foreign workers become old themselves while at the same time the shortage of younger people to care for them will still persists. So what will the next agenda be then? Import even more foreign workers? It would be a never ending cycle in which Japan will only find itself becoming less and less Japanese over time (which would be really sad). At the end of the day, importing more foreign workers is just a band-aid to an issue that could potentially cause more problems than solve and not really a reliable solution in the grand scheme of things. But if real change absolutely needs to happen right now then it needs to happen from within - like in the form of shorter work schedules and more government assistance programs for those with kids.
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  20.  @kingdomgeasslover  Japan can afford to pay for these programs if they cut back on other less important government funded things - avoid pork barrel spending especially and also place higher taxes on the top 1%. It's all about allocating the money towards the areas of higher importance first. And clearly, the establishment of government assisted programs geared toward providing more financial aid for families w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ should most certainly rank at or near the very top of the order. ➝ How would immigrants end up having more kids than Japanese citizens unless they're somehow getting paid more? If they are living under the same conditions as the natives then it should technically follow that their birth rates would be no different as well. This is why I specifically mentioned the trouble it would cause to allow more immigrants in who also won't have many kids and eventually end up becoming old themselves. And as I reiterate, their welcoming will only provide a temporary band-aid to the problem because once they become old themselves with few kids it would only exacerbate and prolong the current issue even further ahead in to the future. ➝ Even though I identity as center left, I have to agree with the conservative stance to some degree on the topic of immigration. Having a little xenophobia actually helps in maintaining a national identity as well as preventing the native population from being outbred and eventually replaced by other foreign groups. Also, how could anyone be so sure that these immigrants will just assimilate in to the culture once their numbers become much larger? Hearing the feedback from Europeans who are already experiencing this tells me that those immigrants will just end up creating their own subcultures without much care for the native culture. So yes, given this picture I would say that there is definitely a legitimate reason to be at least a little concerned about the prospect of letting in more foreigners in to Japan than the current rate. ➝ Lastly, like I also mentioned, Japan's current aging issue crisis is something that should've already been predicted decades ago following the post-WWII baby boomer explosion. But once this generation eventually dies out, we should expect to see a return to normalcy as well as a significant boost in the economy. They just simply need to wait it out to get over the hump. The narrative being spun around that Japan is "dying out" is flat out wrong and very short sighted.
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  21. Getting more people to join the JSDF has always been a major issue regardless of the low Japanese birth rate. It's just simply not a popular option among the Japanese youth for a number of reasons. Never was and probably never will be.
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  22.  @mirieshii1948  " If this trend continues...." Yes, but only IF this pattern continues there will be no hope. Except that it won't. Like I said, the spike in births from the baby boomer generation (people born from1946-1964) is what 's causing the current problem (not just in Japan, but other countries around the globe). We'll just need to wait for most of this generation to pass away and things will gradually return to normal. Moving forward, most people on average nowadays are most likely not going to have more than two children per household.
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  23. Not that I'm against women being in power. But when it comes to Japan I have a bad feeling that they would be more likely than men to swing the doors wide open to foreign immigration - something that I'm very fearful of.
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