Problems Faced by Japanese Young and Old People - Essay Example

Essay I Name Institution Date Introduction Japan is one of the leading economies in the Asian region. Over the years the Japanese society has faced numerous challenges including the tsunami and the nuclear plant disaster that occurred in March 2011. The the aging population and the young people experience diverse challenges. This paper seeks to examine the problems facing the aging population and the young generation in Japan. The scope of the analysis will also be grounded on examining the powers in Japan and their relations. The problem of aging population in Japan Japan is among the leading nations of the world with a high rate of the aging populations. The increased number of the aging population in Japan is rooted from the decreasing rates of birth rates and longer lifespan. Even though the problem is faced by other countries, the case of Japan is far worst. This is essentially because more than a quarter of the population is over 65 years. Due to the increasing number of the aging population, the old generation in Japan faces numerous challenges. A report by the Oi (2015) in a BBC News article discloses that one the challenges that faces the aging population in Japan is the lack people to take care of them. According to Oi (2015), there is an increasing number of household in Japan where the aging population look after one another in the nursing care centers. In the previous month for instance a 71 Year old husband was arrested as a result of killing his spouse who was suffering from dementia. The man states that his reason for committing the murder was because he got tired of looking after. The man also stated that he wanted to take his own life because he was also tired of his old age. Another challenge is the cultural differences that exist between the expatriate care givers and the old age population. Due to the lack of adequate human resource within the country, the Japanese government adopted the policy of increasing the number of expatriate workers essentially nurses who will aid in the service provision programs for the aging population. One of the key challenges facing the program is the existing cultural differences between the expatriate workers and the elderly population. For instance, cultural differences arise in terms of language variances and the differences that exist in terms of the ethical values. This differences have often resulted to conflict between care givers and the old people, leading to poor service delivery and a decline in the number of expatriate care givers willing to work in Japan. The situation has therefore affected the aging population (Oi, 2015). A decline in government funding has resulted to poor service quality in many nursing homes therefore making the aging population to suffer. Economically, the aging population erodes the saving surplus of Japan. The increased the growth of baby boomers has reduced personal saving in Japan by a third of its current level. There is a great impact on private savings since the elderly do not save and they mostly rely on pensions. Consequently, the government often experiences budget deficits. Over the years the Japanese government has been stretched to the limit due to the increasing strain of costs incurred in public pension and the health system. In most cases, pension authorities strive to meet various pension obligations of the older population which is a phenomena that has often strained the government (Crocker, 2010). The existence of such economic challenges has affected the funding directed to nursing homes. The aging population therefore faces problems such as inadequate staff to cater for their needs and poor service quality (Mühleisen and Faruqee, 2001). The aging population also experiences alienation from the rest of the society essentially from the young generation. Oi (2015) discloses that there is actually no body to take care of the old people. In most cases the young people are few. In addition, they usually find it boring to work with the aging population. The few that have dedicated their career and time towards taking care of the aging also develop a sense of tiredness and boredom wishing that they would have been doing exciting things such as travelling and meeting with friends. The aging population in Japan is therefore mostly alienated even within the family level. Problems faced by Japanese young people Japanese young generations are currently confronted with several problems. There is great unhappiness and dissatisfaction among Japanese youth. One basic factor causing dissatisfaction is the challenge of landing stable job. The situation has led to the emergence of the phrase “black companies” describing various companies who break several standards and laws. Such companies exploit the youth and force them to work for more hours with minimum pay and lack of job security. The Ministry of Labor, Health and Welfare discovered that out of 5111 business that was investigated, 4189 business had violated the labor laws. One of the officials in the ministry suggested that the violation was not to target the young generation, but the youths were profoundly influenced by the breach. The labor department is coming up with a strategy of asking various firms to offer employee turnover data to the graduate; this can help shed light on the prevailing labor conditions (Genda and Hoff, 2005). Japan has the largest budget deficit among the developed countries. The youth in Japan are also discontented with the budget deficit. With the decades cleanup process of the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, aging population threatening to demolish the social welfare system and xenophobic rhetoric, all these leads to large budget deficit of the country. Moreover, Japan offers low- levels of security to its working class. Lifestyle survey conducted by the government that aimed at investigating individuals who were twenty years and above showed that the number of youth who were worried about their future was increasing. The young people who claimed that they were worried about their future during the bubble economy were at forty percent. Thus in thinking about their future, the youths in Japan are concerned (Genda and Hoff, 2005). The young people are also affected by the low level of fertility in Japan. There exist several policy inducements in Japan, the limits the family sizes. This results to low fertility rates in the country. Specifically, based on the fact that the country has had a transition to greater levels of income. In the Asian demographic review, Peter McDonald noted that Japan had formulated relevant policies that lower fertility rate sixty years ago. McDonald argued that high productivity constrained economic development in the Asian countries since the capital at the household level and the national level should be devoted to the nurture and care of individuals below age 15. A low few number of children can make more individuals to invest more into productive investments such as education, factories and many other sectors. As most individuals are employed, then the dependency ratio is likely to decrease, and the economy can be boosted as a result of this. However, this poses a challenge to the youth of Japan who values fertility. As a result, most of the youth flee the country. Consequently, there is increased a number of aging population since the birth rate is controlled. The aging population depends on the youth for food and other services. This possesses a significant challenge to the youths (Han, 2009). The youth are also faced by violence and death fascination. There is a high level of suicide cases in Japan. A study conducted in 2003 found out that there was suicide at every fifteen minutes in Japan. This is considered to be one of the highest suicidal rates in the modern industrialized nations. This trend has not changed since then. Specifically in Tokyo, individuals are capable of dying using their hands than any other cause. There are several cases of suicides reported in the media every year. The youth have even created various sites on the internet where they can find ways of ending their lives. The increased level of suicide cases is as a result of lack of purpose and helplessness among the youths (Han, 2009). Another cause of suicide among the youth is engagement in violent activities. There has been an untold increase in the cases of violence in school playgrounds in Japan. This made the national magazine warn that Japanese schoolyards should not be descended to the battlefield. Violence among the youth has greatly increased with children under the age of fourteen recording high number of violent activities. Studies indicate that most children in high school and the idle school have had a violence activity at least one a month. To solve this problem, the Japanese government decided to lower the minimum age of prosecution from sixteen years to fourteen years. This age is likely to be reduced further due to increasing crimes among the youth (Han, 2009). The government of Japan should formulate relevant strategies that can be used to minimize the level of violence among the youths and thus prevent death rates. Powers in Japan and their Relations Power is a significant element of the Japanese society. One of the existing powers that exists in Japan is patriarchy. In Japan, patriarchy as a system of power is referred to Kafuchosei. The existence of the patriarchal system in Japan has resulted to the development of a male dominated society. Men are considered to be more important than their female counterparts. Nehring and Plummer (2014) disclose that the patriarchy system in Japan has resulted to underrepresentation of women in various avenues of the society such as boardrooms, the workforce and political control. It can be stated that the power system within the Japanese society systematically promotes male domination and also brings about a gendered division of labour that’s limits the participation of women in politics, labour and the public sphere. Another existing power relations in Japan in matriarchy. The patriarchy system is however more dominant in Japan than matriarchy. Andersen and Tylor (2007) highlight that in Japan women are free and have a certain level of power in certain avenues of life but in others, they are more restricted. For instance, women tend to be well educated and have an increased level of participation in the labour force. Within the family level however the Japanese women have gender roles that are fairly rigid. Women do not have much power within the family set up. Although the matriarchy system is not very dominant. Women are still treated with respect making the matriarchy level of power still significant. For instance; the rate of violence against women, pornography and prostitution are very minimal in Japan. This implies that women are considered as important (Andersen and Tylor, 2007). The relations that arise from the patriarchy and the matriarchy system are basically gender relations. Gender majorly indicates the social organizations of the differences between male and female. This defines masculinity and femininity. Men in Japan are considered stronger than the women as a result, the women has to respect the man as the head of the household (Andersen and Tylor, 2007). Gender also relates to the everyday performance which define how we are female or male. The power relations of Japan have instigated the creation of gender roles within the Japanese society. For instance in Japan, the role of the woman is to take care of their houses and ensure that the family runs smoothly. The existing power relations therefore demand that the women is to take a leading role in taking care of the family. In addition, the women should perform their roles according to the requirements of the man of the house (Andersen and Tylor, 2007). Conclusion The discussion above has presented various critical challenges that face the aging and the young population in Japan. Based on the findings it can be stated that the Japan faces numerous social challenges. There is therefore need for the Japanese government to come up with strategies that can resolve the challenges facing both the young people and the aging. References Andersen, M and Taylor, H, 2007, Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society, Routledge. Genda, Y., and Hoff, J., 2005, A nagging sense of job insecurity: the new reality is facing Japanese youth. Tokyo, Japan, International House of Japan Han, C.-H. , 2009, Japan. Paris, OECD Publications. Mühleisen, M and Faruqee, H, 2001, Japan: Population Aging, A quarterly magazine of the IMF,38(1). Nehring, D and Plummer, K, 2014 , Sociology: An Introductory Textbook and Reader, Routledge. Oi , M, 2015, Who will look after Japan's elderly? BBC News Read More