The declining birthrate is a problem shared by East Asian countries. In the past, discussion of this phenomenon has focused on social issues such as pensions and taxes and maintaining national strength. In contrast, however, little discussion has focused on how children themselves are affected by these rapid socio-environmental changes with respect to growth and development. Given that the birthrate in Japan has been declining for more than twenty years now, children born during this time have been growing up in a society with fewer children.
CRN's vision is to realize child-caring design in the child-rearing environments of societies faced with a decreasing birthrate. To achieve this objective, it is necessary to study the impact of the declining birthrate on the growth and development of children, regardless of whether it is good, bad, or perhaps not present at all.
This symposium will address issues related to the declining birthrate in East Asian countries, which share a number of cultural similarities, with each participant contributing research data from his or her respective country. One possible theme is the relation between the declining birthrate and child-related problems. Phenomena indicated in each of these societies are no doubt relevant in other contexts as well. For example, there is much that Japan could learn from China where the one-child policy has been implemented for more than twenty years.
Children have the right to live and grow up happy regardless of whether they are few or large in number. Bringing together researchers from other East Asian countries, this symposium seeks to consider the present and future of a child-centered society amid a declining birthrate.
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Noboru Kobayashi, Director of Child Research Net, Director of Benesse Institute for the Child Sciences, Parenting, and Aging Inc., Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo |
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