This study focuses on Japan's population policy and its far-reaching impact on women, especially in the many radical actions launched to deal with population pressures since the end of World War II.
1. Background of population policy
Faced with the dire post-war demographic situation, the Japanese government took steps to address the gender imbalance. As a result of the loss of a large number of male soldiers in the war, the number of women left behind has risen significantly. In order to quickly fill the population gap, the government has implemented a series of measures, such as lowering the legal age of marriage for women to 13 years and treating them as reproductive tools. However, these policies have sparked heated debate in all sectors of society.
In the current context, there is a clear lack of rational thinking in the formulation of Japan's government decrees. Despite rapid advances in technology and medicine, the government is focusing on increasing fertility at the expense of women's health and rights. This is clearly a lack of humanity and undoubtedly constitutes a flagrant violation of women's human rights.
In the face of a severe demographic crisis, the Japanese government has implemented a number of related strategies to promote population growth, such as implementing a policy to guarantee newborn lunches. Although such measures have increased the birth rate in the short term, the attention and protection of women's reproductive rights are still insufficient, and women are regarded as mere reproductive machines.
3. The situation of women in the post-war period After the turmoil of World War II, the living conditions of Japanese women changed dramatically. As a result of the large number of male sacrifices in the war, the family structure was restructured into a social model dominated by the elderly, women, and children. In view of severe demographic pressures, the Japanese government has implemented an overly aggressive fertility strategy that reduces women to simple reproductive tools, ignoring their basic rights and human dignity.
4. Utilization of foreign laborIn response to the growing shortage of labor, the Japanese government has introduced a policy of introducing foreign labor, but in the process, the government has mishandled the way foreign workers and domestic women have given birth to offspring, resulting in some women being regarded as reproductive machines and their basic human rights and dignity have been seriously violated.
Japan's current population strategy has left many women in dire straits, whose rights and dignity are misinterpreted as tools of reproduction, while women stranded in the overseas labor market are under greater pressure, desperately resisting and becoming victims of the policy.
6. The struggle of Japanese women Under the widespread discrimination and repression in society, Japanese women have never given up their struggle. They have expressed their dissatisfaction with the government's policies through various channels and insisted on defending their rights and dignity. However, due to the government's severe crackdown, its efforts have had little effect, and it is still in a relatively weak situation.
7. Respect and protection of womenTo deal with Japan's population problem, it is important to protect women's rights and human dignity. To this end, the Government should adopt a care-led strategy and avoid treating it as a fertility tool. In line with this purpose, we can maintain the sustainability of population growth and promote the steady progress of society.