The chief reason for the dearth of births is the decline of marriage. Fewer people are opting to wed, and they are doing so later in life. At least a third of young women aim to become full-time housewives, yet they struggle to find men who can support a traditional family. In better economic times potential suitors had permanent jobs as part of the lifetime employment system. Now many hold down temporary or part-time work. Other women shun marriage and children because Japans old-fashioned corporate culture, together with a dire shortage of childcare, would force them to give up their careers. Finally, young people are bound by strict social codes. Only around 2% of babies are born outside marriage (compared with 30-50% in most of the rich world), which means that as weddings plummet, so do births. Even for those who do start families, the rising cost of child-rearing often imposes a de facto one-child policy.
