The article makes some good points about the rather
peculiar facets of otaku culture, but a few other (structural) sources of Japan’s
population crisis are apparent. As the
article mentions, Japan is desperately trying to maintain cultural ‘purity’ in
an increasingly globalized world. By
restricting immigration, Japan greatly restricts its economic potential (both by
preventing highly-skilled technological / technical workers from coming to
Japan and bogging down potential cheap labor with burdensome visa
processes). Quite astutely, Roland Kelts
points out the crushing cost of living in Japan. Faced with the burdensome task of raising children
(and unsure of their ability to support a family in a long-stagnant economy),
many find the prospect of marriage to be ‘unrealistic’. In that regard, otaku culture might be less of
an escape to childhood and more of an
escape from the present.
International
Perspective: Japanese men enjoy flirting with virtual girls
Anita Rani
BBC “This World”Host
Last updated: October 26th, 2013 GMT
3:36 PM
The passion some Japanese men
have for cartoons and computers far surpasses that of their sex life
Unless something occurs to
raise the birth rate in Japan, by the year 2060 Japan’s population will have
dropped to a third of the present population.
One of the reasons for this decrease is the appearance of the ‘otaku’
group. Their passion for cartoons and
computers far surpasses that of their sex lives.
Tokyo is the largest city in
the world, with over 35 million residing there.
You would be hard-pressed to believe there is a population crisis here.
Akihabara, the center of
Japan’s anime culture, hints at the problem.
This place might be called an otaku heaven. As Japan’s economy has stagnated for almost
twenty years, geeks growing up in during this time period have chosen to hide
in their own world.
Kunio Kitamara, the director
of the Japan Family Planning Research Center, described many Japanese men as ‘herbivores’:
they lack drive and desire. They are
very different from the ambitious generation that arose after the war. That generation built Japan into an economic
power. This generation however has no
interest in white-collar work. They live
like moles, anxious about meeting with members of the opposite sex.
A survey conducted by the
Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare in 2010 showed that 36% of Japanese
males aged 16-19 had no interest in sex; this statistic has doubled in the
space of two years.
Two otaku I met believed they
had found love with virtual girls.
This ‘girlfriend’ is actually a
computer game, Love Plus, designed by Nintendo for handheld gaming systems. Yuge and Nurikan bring their ‘girlfriends’ to
the real-life park, and will even buy them birthday cakes. “This is just like when we would date in high
school”, Nurikan said. In the game, this
38-year old is only 15.
As long as I have time,
I will continue this relationship, the 39-year old Yuge said.
“Because she’s still a
high-school student, we go to school together in the morning. After school we go home together. In the game I’m 17 years old.” Yuge said he often times puts his ‘girlfriend’
Nene in the basket of his bicycle and takes pictures with her.
While Yuge would like to meet
real girls, Nurikan is already married. They
said having a virtual girlfriend is much easier than having a real female
partner. Yuge said that with high school
dating you don’t need to think about getting married, but with real girlfriends
you have to consider it. Because of this
problem, they prefer going out with virtual girls.
Nurikan says he has a
relationship with both his wife and his ‘girlfriend’ Rinko. He hopes he never has to choose between his
wife and Rinko.
Otaku often give others
the impression that they are stuck forever in their childhoods, that they enjoy
this kind of life. What exactly it is
that makes them leave reality and escape to a virtual world of make-believe,
the reason isn’t entirely clear.
Social commentator Roland
Kelts, who has lived in Tokyo for a long time, expressed that many young
Japanese males are pessimistic about the future. They don’t believe they will be able to make
as much money as their parents, and don’t want to have a committed marriage.
Kelts stated “Compare it
with China and Vietnam: many young people will go to night clubs and even start
engaging in sexual behavior. They know
that in the future their income will surpass that of their parents. The Japanese, in contrast, don’t think this
way.”
A few reports showed that among
Japanese heterosexual couples, sexual activity was rather infrequent. One survey showed that 27% of those surveyed
had sexual relations every week.
Marriage rates were similarly low, with birth rates even lower, and 2%
of children born out of wedlock.
Another important reason for
Japan’s population crisis is a lack of immigration. In the UK, one out of eight people were born
overseas; in Japan, only one out of sixty were born abroad. Despite this trend, Japan still strictly
controls immigration, even though there is a major lack of technological and
technical skills.
In the face of globalization,
which increases in scope by the day, Japan is attempting to protect its
indigenous culture. But when it comes to
the solving the population problem, is this method really appropriate? Or is it just a question of time, and
Japanese men will grow up and engage in more sexual activity and have more
children?
Translator-editor: You You Editor: Ling Lan
Translator (Chinese to English) : Paul Orner
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