Library

It's not that you "can't" have children, it's that society "doesn't allow" you to have children. The entire social environment is telling women: "If you are so worried about your children, let the mother stay at home." What is the fundamental reason why young people are unwilling to have children? How to change the social status quo of low desire for childcare? From the perspective of women such as the unfair treatment of pregnant women in the workplace, the shortcomings of obstetrics and gynecology in hospitals, and the problems in child care institutions, the author provides an in-depth analysis of the social factors of low fertility. The author Miki Kobayashi won the Poverty News Reporting Award in 2013 for her "report on the structure of a 'society that does not allow childbearing' and a series of discrimination against pregnant women in the workplace." In the last chapter, the author describes the ideal form of a "society capable of giving birth," but changing the status quo still requires the joint efforts of all levels of society.

The 2.73 Million people left behind by Japanese society have experienced an employment ice age and become middle-aged freelancers. Just because they can't find a stable formal job, they are forced to give up love, marriage, childbirth, interpersonal relationships, and real estate. They continue to lose everything in life, losing sight of dreams and hopes... This book describes the current situation of middle-aged freelancers in the form of interviews, and also proposes some feasible solutions.