著者

Moriki Yoshie

出版者

国際基督教大学

雑誌

国際基督教大学学報. II-B, 社会科学ジャーナル (ISSN:04542134)

巻号頁・発行日

no.74, pp.27-45, 2012-09-30

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The latest population projections published in January 2012 presented theprospect that the Japanese population will continue to decline over the next50 years. Although the Japanese government has introduced various familyfriendlypolicy measures, it appears that raising fertility rates is not an easytask. This paper sheds light on under-recognized factors for Japan's low fertilitythat have not been well explored, focusing on the issue of sexless marriagesand the associated cultural practice of parent-child co-sleeping. It is foundthat, based on national surveys, sexless marriages are common in Japanesesociety and the percentage of "sexless" is high even for those who want a child.Focus group discussions conducted with Japanese males and females revealthat sexual relations between spouses are a secondary matter in their busydaily schedules. For Japanese couples, keeping the family, which is said to behighly child-centered, working well is more of a priority. Also, discussion datasuggest that given strong cultural values for mothering, the sense of "beingthe mother" may make women, who themselves grew up seeing their mothers"sex-free," uninterested in sex. In this context, these women being sexless andnot seeming to mind this situation may be a natural consequence of trying tobe "good" mothers. Besides the ideological closeness between a mother andchild, mothering involves close physical proximity as well; there is a markedpreference for the kawanoji-sleeping arrangement in which parents and a childsleep together in the shape of the Chinese character kawa ( 川). This sleepingarrangement, which makes spousal sexual activities more difficult in practice, ischosen by the parents, who believe that co-sleeping is good for children. Sincemothering work is deeply internalized in Japanese society, it is suggested thatmore attention should be given to this value and the significant implications itcarries with it, including the issue of sexless marriages. It may be true that thisideal norm for proper mothering, a norm that costs time, money, and energy, ismaking the decision to be a mother, to have multiple children, and to continueto work more challenging. The practice of mothering will have to adapt to theemerging socio-demographic conditions in one way or another, so it is necessaryto closely examine what happens to this cultural value.