Recently, a controversial topic has attracted a lot of attention: Are Japan's first unmarried activists beginning to regret their choice? This topic comes from a Japanese variety show "Can I Follow You to Your House". In the show, 72-year-old Ryoji Suzuki confessed in an izakaya, "I want to get married before 80." He had just finished a glass of wine and was about to head to the next tavern, trying to kill the loneliness of the evening and avoid the loneliness of going home alone. He confessed that he longed to marry because he "didn't want to die alone." ”
As a representative of the first generation of non-marriagers in Japan, when he was young, he longed for freedom, had no interest in traditional marriage and family, and just wanted to enjoy a free and happy life alone. Now, however, as he grows older, he has witnessed the pain of loneliness and weakness in the elderly, and his inner feelings have changed, and his desire for marriage has been rekindled. "People need the company of their families after all." Suzuki was full of emotion. However, it is not surprising that he will eventually end up alone with aging, illness and loneliness, which was one of the costs of his decision not to marry when he was young.
According to statistics from relevant Japanese institutions, as of 2020, the proportion of men under the age of 50 and unmarried women was 32.4% and 28.3%, respectively. Since the collapse of the bubble economy in the eighties and nineties of the last century, the willingness of Japanese society to marry has declined sharply. At the same time, China has just experienced the bursting of the housing bubble and the recession of the real economy, which have led to a decline in people's incomes, which has further weakened the willingness to get married.
It all stems from financial pressures and worries about the future, with younger generations reluctant to take on the responsibilities that come with marriage and family, which often come with stress. With the increase in the number of unmarried people, or the general postponement of the age of marriage, the problem of declining birthrate is becoming more and more significant, which will have a greater impact on the whole country. Although we can see that many so-called experts have proposed various measures to deal with the declining birthrate, most of them have proven to be ineffective.
If we fail to properly address the survival pressure of the younger generation and raise the level of per capita income, the desire to marry and have children will only continue to decline, leading to a vicious circle. The poet Yeats once wrote: "When you are old and have limited mobility, and you sit by the fire and take a nap, you will recall the youth of your youth, how many people have loved your happy time, your beauty, whether true or false, and only one will still love your soul and the wrinkles on your old face." ”
This scene is indeed beautiful, the two people accompany each other, go through the difficult years together, and even when the gray hair is gray, they still support each other, and their eyes are full of affection. Who doesn't yearn for such a beautiful old age? However, reality has given people an easier choice. Because the road to the future is long and winding, one has to seriously think about whether it is worth taking on such a great responsibility and debt at the dawn of life, just to chase the beautiful twilight that is out of reach.
When discussing this topic, we should carefully weigh the pressures of the younger generation, their sense of responsibility, and their vision for the future. More support needs from society and government to help young people ease their lives and financial pressures so that they can have more autonomy in choosing to marry and have children. Only in this way can we look forward to a better society and happier families in the future.