#usf_fys17

During the semester, I analyzed data to answer my question, “How are maid cafes are associated with the decline of families/ fertility rates in Japan?”, has led me to believe that the potential answer to my question is that maid cafe visits are more affordable than being in an intimate relationship and starting a family. Maid cafes have replaced dating, meaning that single people pay over $100 an hour for a courteous maid (female) or butler (male) to serve drinks and start conversations with customers. This makes sense because men in Japan no longer have stable jobs. Therefore, men are unable to support their families. Also, this makes sense because women are more career driven than having a desire to be in a relationship or to start their own families. This is important because young men and women are afraid to live and be alone, but they are very self conscious about it. Young men and women are willing to pay $2,500 for a virtual spouse instead of being in a traditional marriage, because they feel that getting married is very troublesome. This data reveals that men and women feel that pleasure is essential to them even though they can’t afford to invest time and money in a genuine relationship. These reasonings explain why Japan’s fertility rate as of 2017 is ranked 223 out of 226 countries.

In my opinion, Japan should change their public policy and social action in order to make housing cheaper. Citizens in Japan should get married by the age of 25 and each married couple ranging from the ages 25 and 35 must have at least 2 children.

Sources:

Cuddling, robots and holograms are replacing sex in Japan

Why have young people in Japan stopped having sex?

Based on the data I analyzed, it leads me to believe that kyabacula hostessing has become a desirable profession for multiple reasons which all relate to eachother. Due to the fact that the profession has become more widely accepted within Japanese society, paired with the glamorous portrayals of wealth and fame shown in media, the thought of being paid good money simply for conversing with men becomes extremely attractive for any young girl stuck in a bad economy with no other reliable work options. As far as the stigma surrounding the occupation, and the effects on self-esteem, both seem to negatively affect women working as kyabacula joh. However, the extent of these consequences differs depending on demographic characteristics and other outside factors. This is important to look at because it brings up a new issue of gender relations within the Japanese workforce. Even with all the glorification of the lifestyle of a hostess, these girls must still be able to realize the continued stigmatization of this type of work. Young women have so little viable options for maintaining their well being that they willingly flock to a profession associated with sex work, that can ultimately have negative effects on their personal welfare as well as their sense of self. This would suggest that new job solutions are required in Japan which are open to all genders and can promise stability in future occupational endeavors free of stigma.

To narrow the huge variety of motives of homicide to a single factor, I would conclude that it is nearly impossible. That is to say that the reason people kill is based on many different reasons to which I find the most frequent: economical situations, development during adolescent, gender, and relationship(family, romantic, etc) problems. These factors are just some of several inference that I was able to deduct from my research, but the interesting feature is the connection they play with one another. 

Going back to my main question of “What plays a role in the declining homicidal rate of Japan?”, the thriving economy of Japan has played a drastic role in lowering the number of crimes committed, but it isn’t the only reason why. With prosperity, Japan also introduces a large and harsh labor force, which in turn, not only keep people busy and gives them money, but is also creating more stress and reasons that keep people occupied. In addition, the introduction of such economy also ties in with the relationship factor but doesn’t directly cause it. One situation is when a partner decides to commit homicide against their significant other not for their money(although it isn’t uncommon for this to happen), but rather because of their faith in each other, whether one has betrayed the other and found a new partner or simply loses interest. Because of the numerous possible motivation for murder that are connected to one another, it is wrong to say that homicide can be categorized by a single term or cause.

Sources: 

http://www.encyclopedia.com/law/legal-and-political-magazines/crime-causation-sociological-theories

http://criminology.wikia.com/wiki/General_Theory_of_Crime

Throughout this semester, I explored the success rate of mail order brides’ relationships.  I initially believe that these relationships have a short duration because of many factors: language barriers, cultural differences, marrying for personal benefits rather than for love, and Japan’s homogeneous society. However, further investigation proved that my claim was wrong, and most mail order bride marriages have a high prosperity rate.

Research papers and videos have helped me conclude that not all foreign marriages in Japan end in divorces after a couple of months. In “Faces of ‘Asian Brides’: Gender, race, and class in the representation of immigrant women in Japan,” author Tomoko Nakamatsu discovers that Japanese men are looking for a companion that will fulfill the role of a faithful wife and loving mother. These desires encourage men to face unknown challenges in pursuit for everlasting love. Furthermore, videos such as “Ask Japanese about dating a foreigner? Do Japanese people want to marry a foreigner? (their voices)” and “International Marriage OK?! Ask Japanese about their opinion in marrying foreigners,” interview single Japanese men. Most liked the idea of marrying a foreign woman, ignoring society’s backlash for breaking Japan’s homogeneity. Shifting to the brides’ perspective, “A grounded typology of foreign-born spouses in Japan: The motivations behind migration to Japan,” by Charlie V Morgan, Monica M Trieu, Abigail Stephens, and Reiju Nemoto revealed that marrying a Japanese man allows a woman from a third world country to support her family back at home. The evident problem here is that she is taking advantage of him. Yet, when living in Japan for years trying to aid a growing family back at home, a bride begins to assimilate. She creates a new life and a family of her own with her Japanese husband.

To summarize, obvious obstacles such as not being able to communicate, contrasting cultures, etc. are not the leading causes for failed mail order bride marriages. Foreign brides’ need for money to support her family back at home and Japanese men desperate for companionship do not result in a short duration of a marriage, also. In fact, both wife and husband are open to the concept of having, and falling in love, with a spouse that comes from a different country. Thus, mail order bride relationships have an outstanding marriage period that is unexpected when viewing their relationship on the surface level.

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP8ryqDksWM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORjxn2pTlMc

http://0-journals.sagepub.com.ignacio.usfca.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/1468796816638401

The sociological questions I proposed during research were denoted as:  Is the sociological structure of harmony in Japanese and the concept of hikikomori destructively related? If so, is it produced by a factor such as family composition/social status?

However, to conclude my research on hikikomori culture calls for a recount of my major findings.

Hikikomori-ism is a phenomenon of self-isolation. Though stereotyped a “growing problem,” the number of hikikomori in the past decade have significantly decreased (Tajan). Hikikomori typically fall into the age range of 20-29, where over one-third of which are men (Tajan). A higher percentage of hikikomori are unemployed, typically leading to a familial over dependence. One of few studies on hikikomori emphasizes the deteriorative aspect hikikomori family members have on everyday routine: eating together, attending family events, and efficient use of floor space. First-person documentaries of this “sickness” captures the emotional distress and frustration of hikikomori parents, who have higher rates of distress than the normal population (Funakoshi).

Though I was able to discover various “theories” regarding the hikikomori phenomenon, none of which I could argue into assertion based on in-class learning. These propositions base their argument on Japanese “collectivist culture,” amae, or homogeneity, which is evident from Benedict Andersen’s work that these concepts are imagined, unreliable social constructs. This discredits all popular theories of hikikomori causation. Therefore, though I am unable to assert this generalization to avoid “bad science,” I do see my findings point towards the concept that family and hikikomori seem to foster a deteriorative, social and psychological relationship.

 Furthering the distance between my research question and its resolve is a deficiency of research. However, my lack of findings debunk the myth of hikikomori culture as a growing problem--their numbers have declined. It also highlights the difficulty in finding data on this subculture, as its participants themselves are hidden away. Most importantly, it emphasizes the importance of individual case studies on hikikomori families, as first-person documentation allows for accurate observation of the characteristics and effects of hikikomori on their environment.To investigate the hikikomori phenomenon, it may prove more effective to conduct specific case studies.

This would suggest to conclude that if Japan sees it necessary to discover if and why hikikomori subculture is detrimental to its country, its social scientists should perform more on site investigations as opposed to developing imagined generalizations. Post-research, government will be fully capable of addressing the hikikomori “epidemic.”

Linked Sources

Significant factors in family difficulties Hikikomori

Hikikomori: The Japanese Cabinet Office’s 2016 Survey of Acute Social Withdrawal

Works Cited

Funakoshi, Akiko and Yuki Miyamoto. “Significant Factors in Family Difficulties for Fathers and Mothers Who Use Support Services for Children with Hikikomori.” Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences, vol. 69, no. 4, Apr. 2015, pp. 210-219.

When thinking of Japan and how to describe the nation, the word homogeneous comes to many. Within that thought, is the image of the family norm be it the traditional multi-generational family or singular unit of mother, father, and child (ren). One of these factors are expectations that a women will have children after marriage, giving up her career to be stay at home mother while the father serves as the breadwinner. Another is the increase in age when marriage does occur as well as a decrease in ‘permanent’ jobs. Divorce has seen rising numbers in recent years as well as the number of single or unmarried parents. The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare has enacted several plans which offer different services and benefits to encourage more families to have children. In these campaigns they promote a balance between work and home by offering child care, companies allowing more leave and a tax break that makes it less difficult to have two income sources rather than one. These benefits and plans however, leave out a growing minority, single parents. Support from the government, the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare offer programs to (re)gain employment promoting self-reliance. Monetary support however, has become more limited in who qualifies and how long they can receive this benefit as surveys for welfare do not include demographic information or who is using it, rather how many are using it.  Japan is among the lowest for out of marriage births due to these expectations on the family unit. To be a single parent is outside the norm. Single parents, defined as unmarried, widowed, divorced, and or in a non-legally binding relationship, have not been directly targeted to increase population numbers. Majority of this minority comes in the form of single mothers who face stigma for “depriving” their children of a balanced and affectionate home.

In the case of divorce and widows return to the workforce for a permanent job is difficult. Single mothers find themselves seen as ‘unreliable’ because of their commitment to their child. The result of taking irregular employment and a wage gap means single mothers find themselves at poverty level.

Figure 1: Hardcover artwork of Miyuki Miyabe’s All She Was Worth

The novel All She Was Worth by Miyuki Miyabe, or Kasha (火車), as its Japanese counterpart, is written as a famous Japanese mystery crime novel. As a contemporary Japanese author, Miyabe’s works have been translated into multiple languages across the globe. In All She Was Worth, she touches upon many controversial subjects. Japanese citizenship, debt cycle, family structure. family registry, and familial obligations are few to list. 

Commentary on this novel should not call for a summary of its happenings, as we (should have) read it in its entirety. What made me think in this novel was how tangible it was to change identity. Do the systems Kyoko Shinjo used to steal Shoko’s identity exist? If so, are they still relevant today? In relation to my topic, wouldn’t it be easy to steal the identity of a hikikomori? For individuals that never go out and do not make much social contact, it would be easy for another to reclaim their identity. Particularly for hikikomori abandoned by their friends and family, it would be easy for another individual to steal their name without interference from a third party.

To expand this idea out of Japanese boundaries, I want to ask, would this also be possible in foreign countries such as the United States? With our use of social security number identification, would this process be more difficult? The concept of hikikomori-ism has expanded to shores away from Japan. Would this expansion of social seclusion make it easier to steal identities in foreign countries as well?