On November 26th, 2021, an online academic conference was held with the theme of “A Brief Discussion on East Asia’s Major Problem: Sub-replacement Fertility” by Professor Yuuki Mizoguchi of the Faculty of Economic Sciences of Niigata University, at the invitation of the Northeast Asian Research Center of Jilin University and the Northeast Asian Studies College of Jilin University. Associate Professor Wang Yanjun, Vice Dean of the Northeast Asian Studies College of Jilin University, presided over the conference. Mr. Shen He served as an interpreter. Postgraduates majoring in demography and faculty and students of related majors both on and off campus took part in the event in person or online.
Professor Yuuki Mizoguchi now serves at the Faculty of Economic Sciences of Niigata University and is a member of Japan Society of Political Economy. Having graduated from Waseda University, he received a PhD in economics from Peking University. His research interests include Chinese economy.
In the lecture, Professor Yuuki Mizoguchi pointed out that the world’s major developed countries have entered a stage of low fertility, which is particularly significant in East Asian countries including China, Japan and South Korea, based on data on fertility changes around the world. The fertility fall in Japan mainly results from non-marriage and late marriage, the underlying reason behind which is that it is hard to juggle childbirth and work for working women since they are more easily employed and will suffer high indirect costs of childbirth. In contrast, the main cause of China’s fertility decline is the high direct cost of childbirth. Professor Yuuki Mizoguchi noted that in terms of family environment, Japanese society is enterprise-centered, China in the process of market economy while South Korea is in the concept of developmentism. The common ground of the three societies is that capital ethics take precedence over family ethics, resulting in a decrease in the input-output benefits of family construction, the most important of which is the increase in fertility costs. It can be considered that the essence of the low fertility phenomenon is an irreconcilable contradiction between capital ethics and life ethics of people. Therefore, Professor Mizoguchi proposed that the solution to the low fertility issue should be people-centered, to value the family, and to rebuild social order.
Professor Yuuki Mizoguchi also responded to questions concerning changes in employment rate and patterns of women in Japan. In the end, Associate Professor Wang Yanjun expressed gratitude to Professor Yuuki Mizoguchi for his excellent lecture and academic sharing.
This academic report is a session of the High-end Symposium on Northeast Asia International and Regional Studies. Reflecting the deep concern and in-depth thought of Chinese and Japanese scholars on sub-replacement fertility, a major social issue facing them, the lecture is of positive significance to deepening academic cooperation between the college and Japanese scholars in the field of demography.
