Ryuzaburo Sato and Miho Iwasawa
1
Ryuzaburo Sato and Miho Iwasawa The British Society for Population Studies, 9 - 11 September 2013 The total fertility rate in Japan has continuously dropped since the mid- 1970s, hitting the lowest level of 1.26 in 2005, after which it has been languishing at around 1.4 (Figure 1). Since the beginning of the 1990s, strong concerns have been focused on the causes of low fertility. Among many explanations, the conflict between continuing work and childbearing for women due to its excessive opportunity cost is the most predominant. Government policy measures - increasing nursing facilities, establishing childcare leaves, improving the employment system - have been primarily aimed toward mitigating such conflict. On the other hand few researchers have investigated sexuality or biomedical aspects of very low fertility. Atoh (1998) referred to Japan’s weakness of dating culture, and suggested that the tendency that young men and women are not active enough to find partners, would be one of the causes of very low fertility in Japan (e.g. Sato and Iwasawa, 2008). Moreover, some researchers are considering the possibility that fecundity has been declining in Japan. Under these circumstances, to look at sexuality aspect and discuss the their impact on fertility would be fruitful. By looking at government statistics and the evidence from the publicized survey data, this paper discuss the following three points. REFERENCES Atoh, Makoto (1998) “Traditional family values of unmarried women: In relation to the phenomenal rise in the proportion never married” in Summary of the Twenty-fourth National Survey on Family Planning, Tokyo: The Mainichi Shimbun, pp.117-149. Moriki, Yoshie (2012) “Mothering, co-sleeping, and sexless marriages: Implications for the Japanese population structure” The Journal of Social Science (International Christian University, Tokyo), No. 74, pp.27-45. Sato, Ryuzaburo and Miho Iwasawa (2006) “Contraceptive use and induced abortion in Japan: How is it so unique among the developed countries?” The Japanese Journal of Population, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 33-54. Sato, Ryuzaburo and Miho Iwasawa (2008) “Does promoting reproductive health benefit Japanese fertility?: New policy dimensions of very low fertility” (a paper presented at the International Conference on Low Fertility and Reproductive Health Single, sexless and infertile: Sexuality aspects of very low fertility in Japan (1) Strong Familism and weak ‘couple culture’ There is possibly a deep-rooted Familism, or family-oriented viewpoint, in countries with very low fertility like Japan. In other words, the Japanese have a very strong focus on family and vertical relationships, such as between parent and child, and there is less focus on horizontal relationships, such as the partnership relationships (Figure 2). In terms of the relationship between types of partnership and the ways in which fertility has changed, we can draw an explanation. In countries with strong horizontal relationships or a ‘couple culture’, a decline in marriage rate does not necessarily result in a subsequent decline in fertility due to the compensatory (2) Changing patterns of sexual behaviour It seems puzzling that Japanese fertility is declining while their reported number of induced abortions has continuously decreased (Sato, Shiraishi and Bando 2008) (Figures 4 and 5) and contraceptive prevalence is relatively low compared with other industrial nations (Figure 6). Furthermore, the use of medical methods such as oral contraceptives, intrauterine device (IUD) usage and voluntary sterilization are extremely low (Sato and Iwasawa, 2006)(Figure 7). Therefore, we speculate that the frequency of sexual intercourse among married couples may have recently decreased in Japan. Although there are few accurate data available (Moriki 2012), a series of nationwide sexuality surveys conducted by the Japan Family Planning Association indicated a very low frequency of sexual intercourse among Japanese (Figures 8 and 9). (3) Increasing age at first marriage and growing concerns about infertility In 2011, the average age at first marriage for wives increased to 29.0 years and that for mothers giving birth to their first child also rose to 29.4 years, both hitting record highs (Figure 10). The 2010 Japanese National Fertility Survey, conducted by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, showed that a considerable number of couples worry about infertility (Table 1) . This evidence from Japan strongly suggests that the study concerning aspects of sexuality may be powerful to explain variations in fertility across industrialized countries. 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Year (Thousand) TFR Num berof live births "Hinoe-Um a(fire horse)yearin 1966,TFR=1.58" "1.57 shock" TFR=1.26in 2005 Figure 1.Annual N um berofBirths and Total Fertility R ates in Japan:1947–2012 Source:M inistry ofH ealth,Labourand W elfare, V ital S tatistics of J apan 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Year 1stbirth 29.0 2nd birth 3rd birth 4th and higherorder Firstm arriage 29.4 Source: M inistryofHealth, Labourand W elfare, Vital Statistics of Japan Figure 10. M ean Age ofW om en atFirstM arriage and Childbearing in Japan: 1954–2011 Source: Japanese N ational Fertlity Surveys (N IPSSR ) 【 Male 】 【 Female 】 0 20 40 60 80 100 1987 1992 1997 2002 2005 2010 1987 1992 1997 2002 2005 2010 1987 1992 1997 2002 2005 2010 1987 1992 1997 2002 2005 2010 1987 1992 1997 2002 2005 2010 18～19 20～24 25～29 30～34 35～39 Fiancée Lover Have a friend ofthe opposit sex Notin any relationship w ith the opposite sex Divorced/Widowed M arried ( ％) Notstated 0 20 40 60 80 100 1987 1992 1997 2002 2005 2010 1987 1992 1997 2002 2005 2010 1987 1992 1997 2002 2005 2010 1987 1992 1997 2002 2005 2010 1987 1992 1997 2002 2005 2010 18～19 20～24 25～29 30～34 35～39 Fiancé Lover Have a friend of the opposit sex Notin any relationship w ith the opposite sex Divorced/Widowed M arried ( ％) Notstated Figure 2. Partnership Statusby Age Group 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Year (Thousand) Rate Num ber (‰) Figure 4.Trend in Annual N um ber/R ate ofInduced Abortions: 1955 -2011 Sources: Eugenic Protection Statistics (1955-1995), Maternal Body Protection Statistics (1996-2001), and Report on Public Health Administration (2002-2011), M inistryofHealth, Labour, and W elfare. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Year under20 20-24 30-34 25-29 (‰) 35-39 40-44 45-49 Figure 5. Trend in Annual Rate ofInduced Abortionsby Age Group Source: See Figure 4. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 C urrently practice H ave practiced N everpracticed N o answ er Year (%) Figure 6.Trends in C ontraceptive Practices ofM arried W om en Sources:The 1stthrough 24th N ational Survey on Fam ily Planning (1950- 2000),the 1stSurvey on Population,Fam ily and G eneration (2004)(the Population Problem s R esearch C ouncil,the M ainichi N ewspapers),and Japanese N ational Fertility Surveys (1977,1987,1997,2005)(N IPSSR ). Note:M arried w om en aged 16-49. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 20 ～24 25 ～29 30 ～34 35 ～39 40 ～44 45 ～49 Age Total Fem al Male (%) Figure 8. Proportion ofSexlessCouplesby Age Group: 2004 Source: The 2nd Danjyo no Seikatsu to Ishiki ni kansuru Chosa, 2004, Japan Fam ily Planning Association,INC. Note: M arried m en and w om en betw een 16 and 49 yearsold. "Sexless"here isdefined asnothaving sexual intercourse form ore than a m onth. Table 1.C oncerns aboutInfertility and Treatm entExperience,by Presence ofC hild and W ife’s Age:2010 (Re-listed) Currently w orried (Re-listed)A re undergoing treatm ent Total 100.0% (6,705) 59.4% 31.1 5.5 14.5 16.4 1.5 0.2 9.5 20-29 100.0 ( 652) 65.3 28.1 10.6 17.8 10.1 2.6 0.2 6.6 30-39 100.0 (2,866) 56.7 36.5 8.2 18.3 17.8 2.3 0.3 6.9 40-49 100.0 (3,185) 60.7 26.8 1.9 10.4 16.3 0.5 0.1 12.5 Total 100.0% ( 914) 40.6% 52.2 26.8 23.3 28.6 8.4 0.3 7.2 20-29 100.0 ( 194) 50.0 44.3 24.7 27.3 17.0 7.2 0.0 5.7 30-39 100.0 ( 461) 41.2 52.5 34.3 25.8 26.0 10.8 0.7 6.3 40-49 100.0 ( 258) 32.2 57.8 15.1 15.9 41.9 5.0 0.0 10.1 Source:The 14th Japanese National Fertility Survey in 2010 (NIPSSR) Total C hildless couples Presence of a child Age of w ife Total (Num berof cases) C oncerns about infertility/treatm ent experience H ave neverw orried about infertility H ave w orried about infertility N ot stated H ave not visited m edical institution H ave undergone exam ination ortreatm ent N ot stated Source:Sato (2008) Figure 3.Partnership Transition (1)to M oderately Low Fertility or (2)to Very Low Fertility Births Births Births M arried Celibacy Celibacy Cohabitation M arried M arried Celibacy (1)M oderatelyLow Fertility (2)VeryLow Fertility 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 1974 1981 1987 1993 1999 2005 2011 Year U niversity, male (%) U niversity, female Seniorhigh school,female Seniorhigh school,male Juniorhigh school Figure 9.Experience ofSexual Intercourse Source: National Surveyon Sexual Behaviorin Youth, the Japanese Association forSexEducation. Figure 7.M ethods in C ontraception ofM arried W om en in 2005 Withdrawal C ondom R hythm O thers O ral pill IUD M ale sterilization Feale sterilization N .A. Source:Japanese N ational Fertility Survey in 2005 (N IPSSR )
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The British Society for Population Studies, 9 - 11 September 2013. Single, sexless and infertile: Sexuality aspects of very low fertility in Japan. Ryuzaburo Sato and Miho Iwasawa. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Ryuzaburo Sato and Miho Iwasawa
Ryuzaburo Sato and Miho Iwasawa
The British Society for Population
Studies, 9 - 11 September
2013The total fertility rate in Japan has continuously dropped since the mid-1970s, hitting the lowest level of 1.26 in 2005, after which it has been languishing at around 1.4 (Figure 1). Since the beginning of the 1990s, strong concerns have been focused on the causes of low fertility. Among many explanations, the conflict between continuing work and childbearing for women due to its excessive opportunity cost is the most predominant. Government policy measures - increasing nursing facilities, establishing childcare leaves, improving the employment system - have been primarily aimed toward mitigating such conflict. On the other hand few researchers have investigated sexuality or biomedical aspects of very low fertility.
Atoh (1998) referred to Japan’s weakness of dating culture, and suggested that the tendency that young men and women are not active enough to find partners, would be one of the causes of very low fertility in Japan (e.g. Sato and Iwasawa, 2008). Moreover, some researchers are considering the possibility that fecundity has been declining in Japan. Under these circumstances, to look at sexuality aspect and discuss the their impact on fertility would be fruitful. By looking at government statistics and the evidence from the publicized survey data, this paper discuss the following three points.
REFERENCESAtoh, Makoto (1998) “Traditional family values of unmarried women: In relation to the phenomenal rise in the proportion never married” in Summary of the Twenty-fourth National Survey on Family Planning, Tokyo: The Mainichi Shimbun, pp.117-149.Moriki, Yoshie (2012) “Mothering, co-sleeping, and sexless marriages: Implications for the Japanese population structure” The Journal of Social Science (International Christian University, Tokyo), No. 74, pp.27-45. Sato, Ryuzaburo and Miho Iwasawa (2006) “Contraceptive use and induced abortion in Japan: How is it so unique among the developed countries?” The Japanese Journal of Population, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 33-54.Sato, Ryuzaburo and Miho Iwasawa (2008) “Does promoting reproductive health benefit Japanese fertility?: New policy dimensions of very low fertility” (a paper presented at the International Conference on Low Fertility and Reproductive Health in East and Southeast Asia, IUSSP Panel on Policies in the Context of Low Fertility, Tokyo, 12-14 November 2008).Sato, Ryuzaburo, Noriko Shiraishi, and Reiko Bando (2008) Induced Abortion in Japan: A Demographic Analysis of Its Trends and Causes (Working Paper Series (E) No.22), Tokyo: National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.
Single, sexless and infertile: Sexuality aspects of very low fertility in Japan
(1) Strong Familism and weak ‘couple culture’
There is possibly a deep-rooted Familism, or family-oriented viewpoint, in countries with very low fertility like Japan. In other words, the Japanese have a very strong focus on family and vertical relationships, such as between parent and child, and there is less focus on horizontal relationships, such as the partnership relationships (Figure 2). In terms of the relationship between types of partnership and the ways in which fertility has changed, we can draw an explanation. In countries with strong horizontal relationships or a ‘couple culture’, a decline in marriage rate does not necessarily result in a subsequent decline in fertility due to the compensatory increase in cohabitation and extramarital birth (Figure 3, the upper right circle). Conversely, in countries with a weak couple culture, the decline in marriage rate directly lead to lower fertility, often to the point of very low fertility (Figure 3, the lower right circle).
(2) Changing patterns of sexual behaviour
It seems puzzling that Japanese fertility is declining while their reported number of induced abortions has continuously decreased (Sato, Shiraishi and Bando 2008) (Figures 4 and 5) and contraceptive prevalence is relatively low compared with other industrial nations (Figure 6). Furthermore, the use of medical methods such as oral contraceptives, intrauterine device (IUD) usage and voluntary sterilization are extremely low (Sato and Iwasawa, 2006)(Figure 7). Therefore, we speculate that the frequency of sexual intercourse among married couples may have recently decreased in Japan. Although there are few accurate data available (Moriki 2012), a series of nationwide sexuality surveys conducted by the Japan Family Planning Association indicated a very low frequency of sexual intercourse among Japanese (Figures 8 and 9).
(3) Increasing age at first marriage and growing concerns about infertility
In 2011, the average age at first marriage for wives increased to 29.0 years and that for mothers giving birth to their first child also rose to 29.4 years, both hitting record highs (Figure 10). The 2010 Japanese National Fertility Survey, conducted by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, showed that a considerable number of couples worry about infertility (Table 1) . This evidence from Japan strongly suggests that the study concerning aspects of sexuality may be powerful to explain variations in fertility across industrialized countries.
0.0
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Year
(Thousand)
TFR
Number of live births
"Hinoe-Uma(fire horse) year in
1966,TFR=1.58"
"1.57 shock" TFR=1.26 in 2005
Figure 1. Annual Number of Births and Total Fertility Rates in Japan: 1947–2012
Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Vital Statistics of Japan
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1950
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1st birth
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3rd birth
4th and higher order
First marriage
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Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Vital Statistics of Japan
Figure 10. Mean Age of Women at First Marriage and Childbearingin Japan: 1954–2011
25 29～
30 34～
35 39～
18 19～
20 24～
Source: Japanese National Fertlity Surveys (NIPSSR)
【Male】 【Female】
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Fiancée Lover
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Figure 2. Partnership Status by Age Group
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Figure 4. Trend in Annual Number/Rate of Induced Abortions: 1955 - 2011
Sources: Eugenic Protection Statistics (1955-1995), Maternal Body Protection Statistics (1996-2001), and Report on Public Health Administration (2002-2011), Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare.
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Source: See Figure 4.
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Figure 6. Trends in Contraceptive Practices of Married Women
Sources: The 1st through 24th National Survey on Family Planning (1950-2000) , the 1st Survey on Population, Family and Generation (2004)(the Population Problems Research Council, the Mainichi Newspapers), and Japanese National Fertility Surveys (1977, 1987, 1997, 2005)(NIPSSR). Note: Married women aged 16-49.
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Figure 8. Proportion of Sexless Couples by Age Group: 2004
Source: The 2nd Danjyo no Seikatsu to Ishiki ni kansuru Chosa, 2004, Japan Family Planning Association,INC. Note: Married men and women between 16 and 49 years old. "Sexless" here is defined as not having sexual intercourse for more than a month.
Table 1. Concerns about Infertility and Treatment Experience, by Presence of Child and Wife’s Age: 2010
(Re-listed)Currently w orried
(Re-listed) Are undergoingtreatment
Total 100.0% (6,705) 59.4% 31.1 5.5 14.5 16.4 1.5 0.2 9.5
20-29 100.0 ( 652) 65.3 28.1 10.6 17.8 10.1 2.6 0.2 6.6
30-39 100.0 (2,866) 56.7 36.5 8.2 18.3 17.8 2.3 0.3 6.9
40-49 100.0 (3,185) 60.7 26.8 1.9 10.4 16.3 0.5 0.1 12.5
Total 100.0% ( 914) 40.6% 52.2 26.8 23.3 28.6 8.4 0.3 7.2
20-29 100.0 ( 194) 50.0 44.3 24.7 27.3 17.0 7.2 0.0 5.7
30-39 100.0 ( 461) 41.2 52.5 34.3 25.8 26.0 10.8 0.7 6.3
40-49 100.0 ( 258) 32.2 57.8 15.1 15.9 41.9 5.0 0.0 10.1
Source: The 14th Japanese National Fertility Survey in 2010 (NIPSSR)
Total
Childlesscouples
Presence of a child Age of wife Total
(Number ofcases)
Concerns about infertility/treatment experience
Have never worriedabout infertility
Have worriedabout infertility
Notstated
Have not visitedmedical institution
Have undergoneexamination or treatment
Notstated
Source: Sato (2008)
Figure 3. Partnership Transition (1) to Moderately Low Fertility or (2) to Very Low Fertility
Births
Births
Births
Married
Celibacy
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(1) Moderately Low Fertility
(2) Very Low Fertility
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Figure 9. Experience of Sexual Intercourse
Source: National Survey on Sexual Behavior in Youth, the Japanese Association for Sex Education.
Figure 7. Methods in Contraception of Married Women in 2005
Withdrawal Condom
Rhythm Others
Oral pill IUD
Male sterilization Feale sterilization
N.A.
Source: Japanese National Fertility Survey in 2005 (NIPSSR)
