Japanese culture change coincides with fertility decline

Japan’s total fertility rate is well below America’s. Yet in the 1970s and early 1980s, Japanese and American fertility rates were comparable. In 1985, the year after the expansion of satellite TV and the growth of Japanese celebrity “idol culture,” the two countries began to diverge. Japanese idol culture includes secrecy around romantic and family life and cultivates parasocial relationships with fans, establishing cultural leaders who do not showcase family life. This might explain why Japanese fertility diverged from the West and fell so early.

by Peter Foreshaw Brookes