Job Discussion Forums

[furiousmilksheikali]

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070128p2a00m0na006000c.html

I think its funny that Japanese ministers are happy to bang on about the duty of women to raise the birthrate in Japan yet are opposed to conditions that would make it easier for them to do so such as extending maternity leave.

[shuize]

[6810]

Well all the died in the wool hyper capitalist and anti-frogs will get me for saying so but...

Basically it's about improving social conditions. Make the society a better, more amenable place to have kids and people will want to have them.

They've done and are doing it in France (yes, I am aware of their other problems)... what's that? Reversed the birth rate decline and now have one of the highest birth-rates in Europe. How? Through incentives such as paid maternity leave and a variety of other tax incentives etc.

But this is Japan, and since officially women = sh.!t according to centuries of delightful tradition things aren't likely to change soon.

[JimDunlop2]

Maybe the good minister's machine is broken and he's looking to get a refund...

[Gordon]

It is sad to know nothing will come about by this moron minister's comments.

Abe wants to reverse the declining birth rate, make pregnancy and birth covered under the national health plan. I just spent abut 500,000 yen and this was in a (cheap) prefectural hospital. It could have been much more in a private one. They give a "gift" of 300,000 but this might be at the 1977 level, not 2007.

[Gordon]

Good to see the gov't is taking some heat over it.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070129/kyodo/d8musg280.html

[gaijinalways]

Part of that livable society would be getting fathers to come home early enough to give some attention to their kids as well!