The Current Situation of Japan’s Low-Desire Society Young People Don’t Date, Buy Homes, or Work Hard

The Current Situation of Japan’s Low-Desire Society Young People Don’t Date, Buy Homes, or Work Hard

right now in Japan something strange is happening Young people seem to have silently agreed to stop buying houses stop getting married stop having kids stop spending and even stop caring about work promotions salary raises Forget it Some are choosing to live day by day working short-term gigs earning today spending today not even wanting to take a single coin home To describe this phenomenon Japanese scholar Kenichi Omi coined a new term low desire society In simple words it’s like everybody decided to lie flat living a carefree salted fish lifestyle But how low can Japan’s youth desires actually go curious then follow Uncle Lang because today we’re diving into the strange world of Japan’s low desire society It wasn’t always like this Back during Japan’s economic boom things were completely different The rich flew around the world buying luxury goods and art Ordinary people too spent money like there was no tomorrow Consumerism was everywhere Gold leaf ramen gold flake ice cream Extravagant spending was normal If you didn’t drop tens of thousands of yen just eating out you felt embarrassed to tell anyone Real estate prices out of control In 1989 the total value of Japanese land was four times that of the entire United States Selling Tokyo to buy America wasn’t even a full joke Back then buying a house was seen as guaranteed profit People rushed into the housing market even with crazy mortgage rates of 8 to 10% And then the tragedy struck In the 1990s the real estate bubble burst overnight Countless people fell from heaven to hell Hundreds of thousands of families went bankrupt Tens of thousands became homeless In Tokyo alone the homeless population doubled And so over the next 30 years Japan’s economy stayed stuck barely moving It was in this frozen time that the lowd desire society slowly formed One clear sign young people stopped wanting to buy homes In 1990 a new apartment in Tokyo cost 934,000 yen per square meter That’s about 41,000 yuan at the time Imagine this Back then it took 26 years of working without spending a single yen just to buy an apartment Later prices crashed By 2002 it fell to 513,000 yen per square meter Prices have risen a little since but never returned to the peak Today a new 70 m apartment in Tokyo costs about 13 times the average yearly income Nationwide only eight times Mortgage rates dirt low Even 35-year loans stay under 2% Even 50-year loans stay below 3% but still nothing seems to awaken the desire to buy Among young people it’s almost a consensus Carrying a mortgage pointless burden Between 1,983 and 2013 home ownership among 25 to 29 year olds dropped from 24.8% to just 11.3 compared to the real estate madness of the past It’s like night and day But it’s not just buying homes Young people are also turning away from marriage and children Since the early 2000s Japan’s marriage rate has stayed under 0.6% Less than six couples per 1,000 people marry each year and kids even fewer Today each woman in Japan has an average of 1.3 children far below the replacement rate of 2.1 Only a handful of countries have even lower numbers Since 2011 Japan’s population has shrunk for 12 straight years By 2050 according to the United Nations Japan’s population will drop to 105 million The working age population only 45 million Each elderly person will have barely one young adult to support them Imagine that future Even basic elderly care could become a luxury and everyone knows it Yet marriage and birth rates just won’t rise Why economics Back in the booming years Japan was alive full of energy Young people had little but they had hope Hope made marriage and family seem possible even exciting But after three lost decades that hope is gone Now young Japanese are cautious or simply choose to stay single forever Surveys show about 15% plan to remain single their entire lives Traditional ideas like the man works the woman stays home Less than 20% support it now Believing marriage must lead to kids dropped massively from 67% to 36% among women from 75% to 55% among men Sure society progressed but still marriage today feels more like a burden than a dream Dating also fading In 1982 2/3 of unmarried people had boyfriends or girlfriends Now most singles are truly single and don’t even want a relationship Over 40% of men and nearly 35% of women have never dated anyone Naturally marriage ages have climbed Today the average first marriage age in Japan is 31.2 years for men and 29.6 years for women And raising kids even harder Private education in Japan is expensive Raising one child through private schools to university graduation costs about 41 to 42 million yen Even with public schools it costs over 27 million yen This financial burden crushes the desire to have kids More and more families choose one child or none at all Now if low birth rates come from passive resignation Japan’s low work desire is very active The hardworking show generation long gone Today’s workers born after the bubble burst grew up relaxed They would rather enjoy life early Why kill yourself for nothing retirement keeps getting pushed later and later anyway When looking for jobs young Japanese focus on two things Stable salary stable work Forget ambition Forget growth Many dream of retiring by 50 Stretching to 60 is already generous Only about 25% say they’re willing to work until 65 Overtime almost impossible Around 60% refuse to work more than 20 extra hours per month The ambition to become company president in 1990 it was 34.4% Today just 7.8% Most are happy reaching mid-level management Department manager that’s good enough Start their own company No interest whatsoever Honestly none of this should be a surprise years of stagnant wages an aging society weak economic growth low expectations feed low desires And the younger generation they’ve learned the harsh lessons of their parents Back then fathers left home early for work came back drunk at night rarely spoke to their kids forgot birthdays knew nothing about their children’s school lives Family ties weakened Couples argued Heavy mortgages crushed them and in the end the bubble popped All their hard work turned into a bitter cruel joke For today’s youth the takeaway is simple Hard work does not guarantee reward So why work yourself to death as the joke goes working hard doesn’t guarantee success but not working hard guarantees peace And that’s exactly how Japan’s low desire society came to be For Japan’s youth it’s a rational choice But behind that rationality lies a lot of helplessness and sadness That’s it for today What do you think about the low desire society would you like to live like that feel free to leave a comment Making videos is not easy So if you can please support with a like share and subscribe Follow us And next time we will continue exploring the bizarre and fascinating world of Asia

In today’s video, we explore the reality of Japan’s low-desire society, where young people are choosing not to date, not to buy homes, and not to pursue hard work.

What led to this shift? Could the same happen in other countries?

Join us as we dive into the history, the economic background, and the mindset behind this phenomenon.

*Will we become like this too?*

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