Publications

Comparative Perceptions of Marriage, Childbirth, and Childcare in Japan and Korea

Title
Comparative Perceptions of Marriage, Childbirth, and Childcare in Japan and Korea
Alternative Author(s)

Choi, Kyong Duk

Keyword
Japan ; Population Policy ; Low Fertility ; Perception Survey
Publication Year
2025-08-01
Publisher
Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs
Citation
Health and Welfare Policy Forum 2025.8 No.346, pp.25-39
Abstract
In this article, I compare the perceptions of the Japanese and Koreans about marriage, childbirth, and childcare, and examine how these two groups differ in their views on population issues. Marriage and fertility intentions were less prevalent among the Japanese than among Koreans. The Japanese regarded health and economic conditions as important factors in decisions about family formation and childbirth, while for Koreans potential career interruption was considered more significant. When it came to housework and childcare, there were discrepancies between the actual division of responsibilities and what was perceived as fair. More than half of participants in both Japan and Korea agreed on the difficulty of achieving work-life balance. Regarding childcare, a vast majority of participants in both countries viewed it as a responsibility shared by society and the family. Meanwhile, although Koreans were more aware than the Japanese of existing population policies, their perceived accessibility of available programs, especially paternal leave, was lower. Perceptions of marriage, childbirth, and childcare are, after all, not so much about individual choices as they are shaped by social structures in which various conditions—work-family balance, possibility of career continuation, and policy effectiveness—act on one another in interdependent ways. In this light, population policies down the line will need to be pursued in parallel with efforts to initiate changes at the social-structural level.
URI
https://doi.org/10.23062/2025.08.3
ISSN
1226-3648
DOI
10.23062/2025.08.3
KIHASA Research
Subject Classification
Population and family > Population changes
Population and family > Responses to fertility decline
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