No, America's Birth Rate Decline Is Not Like Japan's
It's not identical, but it sure as heck rhymes.
I recently read an article in The New York Post claiming that “America’s population decline may mirror Japan’s,” and I audibly laughed. There are a lot of issues when it comes to America’s birth rate, but the truth is, this article didn’t get it.
It is true that America, much like Japan, is experiencing rapidly dropping birth rates. To a point, the two countries also have a similar root cause: their culture. However, that’s where things end in terms of similarity.
There are a lot of nuances that make this article comically bad — including an overview on why America’s population won’t decline as quickly as people think. Let me explain what people aren’t discussing about America’s birth rate crisis…
First off, immigration will be propping up our population in a way that Japan will likely never experience.
Before we get into things related to birth rates and marriage rates here, let’s talk about immigration. America may have a ridiculously difficult immigration process, but it absolutely is doable in many cases.
Japan, on the other hand, actively tries to dissuade people from immigrating to the country. It’s a notoriously difficult process where even qualified people are not guaranteed acceptance.
Only 0.2 percent of refugees are even given approval and children who struggle with kanji are often rejected from public schools with no aid for them. It’s brutal.
In America, you don’t have to look too far to find a free ESL class. I literally see flyers for them everywhere I go in my town. America is also far more accepting of foreigners than Japan is — at least, on a social level. Less than 50 percent of Japanese people are willing to accept more immigrants.
I don’t need to tell you that America is far more welcoming here. I mean, we take in as much as 1.2 million people per year. Over 50 percent of all immigrants gain citizenship here.
So, let’s not talk about population decline when we have immigration rates that keep us afloat. Next, let’s talk about the differences in the birth rates — and why even immigrants often rethink having kids here.
Now, let’s talk about the first major difference: parental leave.
