Fertility and Social Stratification - Germany and Japan in Comparison -

Florian Coulmas is director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo and on a leave of absence as professor of Japanese Studies at the Institute of East Asian Studies, University Duisburg-Essen. He has taught and conducted research in various environments, including The National Language Research Institute, Tokyo; Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA; and Chūō University, Tokyo. His publications include more than a dozen monographs. He has been a regular contributor to a number of newspapers including The Japan Times, Neue Zürcher Zeitung and Süddeutsche Zeitung. [dijtokyo@dijtokyo.org, www.dijtokyo.org]

His most recent books are:

• Coulmas, Florian (2007) Population Decline and Ageing in Japan – The Social Consequences. London: Routledge.
• Coulmas, Florian (ed.) (2007) Language Regimes in Transformation. Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
• Coulmas, Florian (2007) Die Gesellschaft Japans. Arbeit, Familie und demographische Krise [Japan’s society. Work, family and the demographic crisis]. Munich: C.H. Beck.

Jean-Claude Hollerich, professor of European studies, is vice president of Sophia University, Tokyo. He received his Ph.D. from the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology, Frankfurt/Main, Germany. He received an M.A. from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich. His research interests and specializations are religions in Europe, and the meeting of Asian and European cultures. [j-holler@sophia.ac.jp]

His publications include:

• Hollerich, Jean-Claude (2008) “First Globalization: European grammar in Asia” in Towards equitable language policy in Asia, proceedings of the 5th Nitobe Symposium. Tokyo: European Institute, Sophia University, 61–63.
• Hollerich, Jean-Claude (2006) “Die französischen Jesuiten in Siam” [The French Jesuits in Siam], Bulletin of the Faculty of Foreign Studies, Sophia University, No. 41: 61–79.
• Hollerich, Jean-Claude. “The Echternach manuscripts”, Hitoguchisaizu no Luxemuburugu, 4: 6–7.

The total fertility rate in Japan and the European nations was above 2.0 until the 1960s, but began decreasing around 1980. Between 1960 and 1995, Japan’s rate fell from 2.0 to 1.42, and Germany’s from 2.37 to 1.25, both rapid decreases.

After the end of the Cold War, and the subsequent hope for peace, the principal European countries emphasized social policies, including family policies. At the beginning of the 21st century, the majority of these countries are seeing an improvement in total fertility rates, but in Japan and Germany, a sluggish tendency continues. In East Asia, the end of the Cold War has come late; Germany, on the other hand, faced the unique political challenge of reunification. These factors could have had indirect effects, but more to the point, the countermeasures against low birth rates adopted by both countries were insufficient, given their economic levels.

However, Germany has recently taken economic assistance measures such as the ¥20,000 monthly child support payment issued for each child under 18. In 2005, support for childcare facilities was strengthened by the Childcare Law. In 2006, a policy for extended parental leave was implemented, where both parents combined may take up to three years of time off from work. The results of these policy developments are apparent, since the birth rate has risen back up to 1.45 in 2007.

Japan recorded a 1.26 fertility rate in 2005, the same year the first designated cabinet minister for declining birth rates was appointed (myself, that is). The next year the government decided on “a new declining birth rate counter-plan.” The various general measures that have been introduced include: (1) the addition of an infant allowance to the existing child support payment system, (2) a reduction in the waiting lists at childcare facilities, (3) a higher one-time birth allowance and paid maternity leave, and (4) increased child raising assistance in the regions. The fertility rate rose to 1.32 in 2006, and to 1.34 in 2007, but one cannot be optimistic about a situation where the second baby boomer generation enters their late 30s. On the other hand, the improvement in 2006 was the first in forty years. These policies born of political leadership have perhaps been able to encourage the people, changing despair to hope.

Kuniko Inoguchi received her Ph.D. in political science from Yale University. She also holds an M.A. from Yale University and a B.A. from Sophia University. She is member of the House of Representatives, a member of the Science Council of Japan and is acting director-general of the International Bureau of the Liberal Democratic Party. Furthermore she is former Minister of State for Gender Equality and Social Affairs. [www.kunikoinoguchi.jp]

Her publications include:

• Inoguchi, Kuniko (1989) Sensō to heiwa [War and Peace]. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.
• Inoguchi, Kuniko (1988) Posto haken shisutemu to nihon no sentaku [An Emerging Post-Hegemonic System: Choices for Japan]. Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo.
• Inoguchi, Kuniko (2007) Inoguchi-san, naze shōshika ga mondai na no desu ka? [Ms. Inoguchi, Why is the Declining Birth Rate a Problem?]. Tokyo: Discover 21 Press.

Barbara Holthus, a sociologist, is researcher at the German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo (DIJ). She holds a Ph.D. in Japanese studies from the University of Trier. Her research interests and specializations are in the areas of gender, media, childcare, sociology of marriage and family, social change, and demographic change. [holthus@dijtokyo.org, www.dijtokyo.org]

Her publications include:

• Holthus, Barbara (2001) “‘Traum-’ oder ‘Alptraum’-Männer? Männerbilder der Frauenzeitschrift An an in den späten 90er Jahren” [‘Dream’ or ‘nightmare’ men? Portrayals of men in the Japanese women’s magazine An an in the late 1990s] in Hilaria Gössmann and Andreas Mrugalla (eds.) 11. Deutschsprachiger Japanologentag in Trier 1999, vol. 1. Münster, Hamburg, London: LIT-Verlag.
• Holthus, Barbara (2000) “Sexuality, Body Images and Social Change in Japanese Women’s Magazines” in Ulrike Wöhr and Barbara Hamill Sato (eds.) Gender and Modernity. Rereading Japanese Women’s Magazines. Kyoto: Nichibunken.
• Holthus, Barbara (1998) “Ishikawa Takeyoshi und Hanamori Yasuji – zwei männliche Frauenstimmen” [Ishikawa Takeyoshi and Hanamori Yasuji – two male female/feminine voices] in Steffi Richter (ed.) Japan Lesebuch III. Tübingen: Konkursbuch Verlag.

Axel Klein is researcher at the German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo (DIJ). He holds an M.A., Ph.D. and a Habilitation in Japanese studies from the University of Bonn. His research interests include the political system of Japan, social policy and social stratification, religion and politics. [klein@dijtokyo.org]

His publications include:

• Klein, Axel (2008) Pictures at an Election or How to Get Votes in Japan (documentary film, 68 min.). Tokyo: German Institute for Japanese Studies.
• Klein, Axel (2006) Das politische System Japans [The political system of Japan]. Bonn: Bier’sche Verlagsanstalt.
• Klein, Axel (1998) Das Wahlsystem als Reformobjekt – Eine Untersuchung zu Entstehung und Auswirkungen politischer Erneuerungsversuche am Beispiel Japan [The electoral system as subject of reform – the case of Japan]. Bonn: Bier’sche Verlagsanstalt.

Karl Ulrich Mayer is professor of sociology at the Center for Research on Inequalities and the Life Course (CIQLE), Yale University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Konstanz and an M.A. from Fordham University. His research interests and specializations are social stratification and mobility, sociology of aging and the life course, social demography, and occupational structures and labor market processes. [uli.mayer@yale.edu, www.yale.edu/sociology/faculty/pages/mayer]

His publications include:

• Mayer, K.U. and H. Solga (eds.) (2008) Skill Formation: Interdisciplinary and Cross-National Perspectives. New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Cortiona, K.S., J. Haumert, A. Lechinsky, K.U. Mayer and L. Trommer (eds.) (2008) Das Bildungswesen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Strukturen und Entwicklungen im Uberblick. [The German educational system. An outline of structures and developments]. Hamburg: Rowohlt.
• Diewald, M., A. Goedicke and K.U. Mayer (eds.) (2006) After the Fall of the Wall: Life Courses in the Transformation of East Germany. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.

The general public is very much aware that Japan has become a stratified society. The gap between rich and poor has widened, and class stratification is becoming entrenched. Japan is no longer the nation of one hundred million who all believed themselves to be of the middle class. A new and possibly grave feature of Japan’s stratified society is poverty. According to the OECD’s comparative international research, Japan’s poverty rate (i.e., what percentage of Japan’s population is poor) is now third among the developed countries. This paper will deal with this new “poverty problem.” Why has poverty worsened in Japan? First, the economic recession has continued. Second, the reform of the social security system (i.e., pensions, medical care, nursing care) has hit low-income earners the hardest. Third, changes in family structure have been dramatic, and the social infrastructure supporting families has weakened. There are a number of ways to fix Japan’s poverty problem. First, bringing about an economic turnaround is of importance. Especially the regional economies are in need of renewal. Secondly, a drastic reform of the social security system is necessary, so that we can provide citizens with a sufficient safety net. Third, the minimum wage rate should be raised considerably. Poverty is serious – it means there are people who do not even have enough for food. Similarly, children who are raised in poor households do not receive a good education, which itself becomes a factor in perpetuating the poverty cycle.

Toshiaki Tachibanaki is professor in the Faculty of Economics at Dōshisha University. He received his Ph.D. from John Hopkins University, Baltimore. His research interests are labor economics and cooperative economics. [ttachiba@mail.doshisha.ac.jp]

His recent publications include:

• Tachibanaki, Toshiaki (2005) Confronting Income Inequality in Japan. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Tachibanaki, Toshiaki (2006) Kakusa shakai [Stratified Society]. Tokyo: Iwanami shinsho.
• Tachibanaki, Toshiaki (2008) Jojo kakusa [Disparities among Women]. Tokyo: Tōyō keizai shinpōsha.

This presentation analyzes intergenerational social reproduction in Germany, combining an analysis of social inequality with a demographic research perspective. On the one hand, important aspects of social inequality can only be studied in a dynamic perspective: Social mobility is commonly defined as the movement of individuals (or social units) among social positions within a society. In so far as these positions form a structure of social inequality, social mobility can be regarded as an indicator of individual-level or group-level persistence of social advantage and disadvantage, and studies of intergenerational social mobility have become particularly prominent. Demographic analyses, on the other hand, focus on the population process, most notably family formation and fertility. There has been some evidence on significant social differences with regard to demographic behavior, but in general, research on social inequalities and demographic research have developed rather separately. As a combination of both strands of analysis, this paper looks at intergenerational social transmission, asking about the formation of the following generation(s) and the consequences of the parents’ social position. Modeling the micro-level process of social reproduction in a life-course framework, this presentation distinguishes between partial processes of social selectivity: This includes an analysis of how the parental (social origin) context is formed, whether there are any children at all and when they are born (i.e., fertility patterns), as well as the aspect of these children’s relative chances of education and attaining certain social positions. A particular focus has been put on possible trade-offs between various dimensions of reproduction. Within this analytical framework and on the basis of combined data from official statistics and longitudinal surveys, the historical developments concerning the degree of intergenerational social reproduction in (West) Germany over the last few decades are described.

Steffen Hillmert is professor of sociology at Tübingen University. He holds an M.A. in sociology from the University of Bamberg and a Ph.D. in sociology from Free University Berlin. His research interests include social inequality and stratification, life course, educational sociology, labor market, comparative research, research methods, and the sociology of science. [steffen.hillmert@uni-tuebingen.de, www.soziologie.uni-tuebingen.de/]

His publications include:

Patricia Boling is professor in the Department of Political Science and in the Women’s Studies Program of Purdue University. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research interests are comparative social policy, comparative welfare states, comparative family policies, public and private distinctions, as well as feminist theory. [boling@purdue.edu]

Her publications include:

• Boling, Patricia (2008) “Demography, culture, and policy: Understanding Japan’s low fertility”, Population and Development Review, 34 (2): 307–326.
• Boling, Patricia (2008, forthcoming) “State Feminism in Japan?”, U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal 33.
• Boling, Patricia (2007) “Policies to Support Working Mothers and Children in Japan” in Frances McCall Rosenbluth (ed.) The Political Economy of Japan’s Low Fertility. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press: 131–154.

Since 1990, the problem of the falling birthrate is on the political agenda in Japan and so far quite a number of counter-measures have been enacted. Although the high costs of childbirth and of raising and educating children are widely accepted as an important reason for many young Japanese couples not to have (more) children, demands for means-tested financial support have neither been strongly voiced nor discussed among policy-makers. The budget for “measures against low fertility” has remained at a low level and, although child allowance was raised in 2006, the idea of means-tested support for families with young children is not dominating the political discussion. On the contrary, drawing on the German case and its equally low fertility, voices within the Japanese government have been questioning the effectiveness of child allowance, parenting benefits and other similar economic support measures. Along the same line of reasoning lies the government’s policy shift to work-life balance, largely ignoring growing disparities in household income as a social reality and as a reason for the falling birthrate. This paper takes a closer look at why this is the case. It focuses on the policy process and the political decision-makers, arguing that the political market value of fertility among competing policy fields in Japan is too low for politicians to spend greater resources (money, time, energy) on the problem.

Axel Klein is researcher at the German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo (DIJ). He holds an M.A., Ph.D. and a Habilitation in Japanese studies from the University of Bonn. His research interests include the political system of Japan, social policy and social stratification, religion and politics. [klein@dijtokyo.org]

His publications include:

• Klein, Axel (2008) Pictures at an Election or How to Get Votes in Japan (documentary film, 68 min.). Tokyo: German Institute for Japanese Studies.
• Klein, Axel (2006) Das politische System Japans [The political system of Japan]. Bonn: Bier’sche Verlagsanstalt.
• Klein, Axel (1998) Das Wahlsystem als Reformobjekt – Eine Untersuchung zu Entstehung und Auswirkungen politischer Erneuerungsversuche am Beispiel Japan [The electoral system as subject of reform – the case of Japan]. Bonn: Bier’sche Verlagsanstalt.

German family policy is currently taking a new direction: Under a grand coalition government a reform offensive spearheaded by the conservative Minister for Family Affairs changes the main features of the conservative welfare state. Drawing on Gøsta Esping-Andersen’s typology of welfare regimes, our paper starts with a short overview of the ‘old’ paradigm of German family policy until the end of the 1990s, focusing on its stratification effects. While Esping-Andersen focused on inequalities that are related to employment status, following his feminist critiques, we also consider inequalities that result from marital and parental status. In the next step, we analyze the policy objectives and (potential) outcomes of one of the core reforms, the new income-related parenting benefit. This reform introduces not only a new policy instrument that puts a stronger focus on the labor market activation of mothers, but also a new policy objective: an attempt to raise the birth rate. We argue that this indicates a paradigm shift in German family policy, because it changes the interplay between (de)familialization, (de)commodification and stratification. While the new paradigm offers better opportunities for highly qualified parents, it also leads to increasing social inequalities between families and, more specifically, mothers: Its strategy of a double activation – in terms of labor market participation as well as in terms of pro-natalism – holds the promise of an exclusive emancipation of highly qualified women, whilst women who cannot be integrated into the labor market and are not regarded as the mothers of tomorrow’s highly qualified are increasingly being denied opportunities of social participation. However, due to persisting problems of work-family reconciliation and the lack of gender equality, even highly qualified women will hardly be able to do both: be available to the labor market as sought-after workers and simultaneously have more children.

Christine Wimbauer, a political scientist, is researcher at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB). She received her M.A. and Ph.D. from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany. Her research interests and specializations are social inequality, gender, sociology of intimate relationships, work, organizations, social policy, and qualitative methods. [wimbauer@wzb.eu, www.wzb.eu/bal/laa/leute/wimbauer.de.htm]

Her publications include:

• Henninger, Annette, Christine Wimbauer und Rosine Dombrowski (2008) “Demography as a Push towards Gender Equality? Current Reforms of German Family Policy”, Social Politics, 16 (3). Online at: http://sp.oxfordjournals.org.
• Henninger, Annette, Christine Wimbauer and Rosine Dombrowski (2008) “Geschlechter¬gleichheit oder ‘exklusive Emanzipation’? Ungleichheitssoziologische Implikationen der aktuellen familienpolitischen Reformen”. [Gender equality or ‚exclusive emancipation? Recent reforms of family policy and their implications in terms of social inequalities], Berliner Journal für Soziologie, 18 (1): 99–128.
• Wimbauer, Christine (2003) Geld und Liebe. Zur symbolischen Bedeutung von Geld in Paarbeziehungen [Money and love – The symbolic meaning of money in couple relationships]. Frankfurt and New York: Campus.

Annette Henninger, a political scientist, is researcher at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB). She holds a Ph.D. from Berlin Free University. Her research interests and specializations are in the areas of sociology of work, employment and organizations, new media, the IT and cultural industries, labor market and social policy, theory of political institutions as well as female employment and changing gender arrangements in couples. [Annette.Henninger@wzb.eu, www.wzb.eu/bal/laa/leute/henninger.de.htm]

Her publications include:

• Henninger, Annette, Christine Wimbauer und Rosine Dombrowski (2008) “Demography as a Push towards Gender Equality? Current Reforms of German Family Policy”, Social Politics, 16 (3). Online at: http://sp.oxfordjournals.org/.
• Henninger, Annette, Christine Wimbauer und Rosine Dombrowski (2008) “Geschlechter¬gleichheit oder ‚exklusive Emanzipation’? Ungleichheitssoziologische Implikationen der aktuellen familienpolitischen Reformen” [Gender equality or ‚exclusive emancipation? Recent reforms of family policy and their implications in terms of social inequalities], Berliner Journal für Soziologie, 18 (1): 99–128.
• Henninger, Annette and Ulrike Papouschek (2008) “Occupation matters – Blurring work life boundaries in mobile care and the media industry” in Chris Warhurst, Doris Ruth Eikhof and Axel Haunschild (eds.) Work Less, Live More? A Critical Analysis of the Work-Life Boundary. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan: 153–172.

Glenda Roberts, an anthropologist, is professor at the Graduate School of Asian and Pacific Studies at Waseda University. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from Cornell University, and holds also an M.A. in Asian Studies from Cornell University. Her research interests are gender, migration, work and family in contemporary Japan. [robertsgs@waseda.jp]

Her publications include:

• Roberts, Glenda (2008) “Immigration Policy: Framework and Challenges” in Florian Coulmas, Harald Conrad, Annette Schad-Seifert and Gabriele Vogt (eds.) The Demographic Challenge: A Handbook about Japan. Leiden and Boston: Brill: 765–780.
• Roberts, Glenda (2007) “Similar Outcomes, Different Paths: The Cross-national Transfer of Gendered Regulations of Employment” in Sylvia Walby, Heidi Gottfried, Karen Gottschall and Mari Osawa (eds.) Gendering the Knowledge Economy: Comparative Perspectives. London: Palgrave: 141–161.
• Roberts, Glenda (2005) “The Shifting Contours of Social Class in Japan” in Robertson, Jennifer (ed.) A Companion to the Anthropology of Japan. London: Blackwell, 104–124.

Compared with five years ago, fathers’ housework participation, mostly tasks such as “taking out the garbage” and “cleaning up after meals”, is on the increase in 2008. Yet their role in child-raising – whether it is scolding children, praising them, or helping them bathe – is on the decrease. In other words, even though husbands are taking their wives into consideration, their involvement in childcare is still lagging behind. This is due to their long work hours. If we look at paternal involvement according to the time fathers return home from work, then we see that those who return earlier have a higher participation level in child-raising.

Given the severity of the continuing recession, corporations have restructured, which resulted in an increased workload for the remaining employees. Some work overtime until late into the night to make up for insufficient salary raises. These structural conditions are not conducive to allowing men to return home earlier to their families.

What is the vaccine for the virus infecting our companies — that working long hours is a virtue? I have come to believe that it is work-life balance (hereafter WLB). I have collected and analyzed interview data from companies leading the debate: 3000 domestic firms, 500 foreign firms, and 500 Japanese firms with branches overseas. WLB encourages morale among employees, and dramatically increases efficiency and productivity. Basically, I think WLB is about consideration. Of course one’s own time is precious, but when we strive for WLB, we begin to respect the time of our coworkers and family as well. We need to provide employees with an opportunity to gain this awareness. This is quite possibly the single greatest task that we face as we try to create a workplace where it is easy to achieve a balance between work and child-raising.

Naoki Atsumi is research fellow at the Economic Research Center of the Fujitsu Research Institute (FRI) and also serves as member of the Japanese Cabinet Office’s “Measures for the Society with Fewer Children Promotion Conference”. He received his bachelor degree from the University of Tokyo Law School in 1992. His research interests and specializations are social security policy, population studies, household and consumption, as well as employment and labor policy.

His publications include:

The image of childless female university graduates grinded by the demands of an academic career, and as a result often foregoing motherhood, has come to symbolize the “birth-crisis” (declining birth rate) in Germany. In contrast, female professors with children are models of family and women’s advancement policy. Gender studies pay a lot of attention to the problems of compatibility and the options these women have, while disregarding the much greater number of male professors with children. These professors are equally afflicted by stress and the specific scientific working culture created by their same-sex colleagues, namely that being a scientist is not perceived as just a profession but also as a mission, requiring utter dedication. Aspiring to an academic career means having a certain disposition for self-exploitation: The scientific community does not provide part-time, but only full-inclusion (membership). At the same time, male professors – similar to other fathers – want to actively take part in the lives of their children, spending time with them and being present at home. Parallel to the ideal of a “good mother” for women, men are also confronted with the ideal of a “caring father” in large parts of society.

Sociological research of fertility and social inequality often focuses on the socially disadvantaged, such as single (female) parents, but does not pay attention to work-life balance problems of so-called elites, such as male professors. Although this group has a wealth of resources at their disposal – according to French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu: capital (cultural, social and last but not least, economic capital) – they do have compatibility problems, not despite but because of their social state. The presentation gives first results on the basis of empirical research.

Julia Reuter is professor of sociology at the University of Trier. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Aachen. Her research interests and specialization lie in the areas of sociological theories as well as cultural and gender studies. [reuter@uni-trier.de]

Her publications include:

• Reuter, Julia (2002) Ordnungen des Anderen. Zum Problem des Eigenen in der Soziologie des Fremden [The problem of self in the sociology of the other]. Bielefeld: transcript.
• Reuter, Julia (ed.) (2006) Geschlechterleben im Wandel. Zum Verhältnis von Arbeit, Familie und Privatsphäre [Gender roles in change – On the relationship of labor, family and the private]. Tübingen: Stauffenburg.
• Reuter, Julia (ed.) (2008) Professor mit Kind. Erfahrungsberichte von Wissenschaftlern [Professor with child – academics report on their experiences]. Frankfurt/Main: Campus.

Marén Schorch is research assistant in the Department of Sociology at the University of Bielefeld, Germany. She received her M.A. and is currently finishing her Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Trier. Her research interests and specialization include identity, biography, sociological theories, and qualitative social research. [Maren.schorch@uni-bielefeld.de]

Her publications include:

• Schorch, Marén (2008, forthcoming) “Rituelle und symbolische Inszenierung von Zugehörigkeit. Das sorbische Osterreiten in der Oberlausitz” [Ritual and symbolic staging of belonging] in Herbert Willems (ed.) Theatralisierung in der Gesellschaft, Vol. 1. Opladen: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
• Schorch, Marén and Alois Hahn (2007) “Technologies of the Will and their Christian Roots” in Sabine Maasen and Barbara Sutter (eds.) On willing Selves. Neoliberal Politics and the Challenge of Neuroscience. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 53–76.
• Schorch, Marén and Alois Hahn (2007) “Tests und andere Identifikationsverfahren als Exklusionsfaktoren” [Tests and other methods of identification as factors of exclusion] in Antje Gunsenheimer (ed.) Grenzen, Differenzen, Übergänge. Spannungsfelder inter- und transkultureller Kommunikation. Bielefeld: transcript: 253–268.

Barbara Holthus, a sociologist, is researcher at the German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo (DIJ). She holds a Ph.D. in Japanese studies from the University of Trier. Her research interests and specializations are in the areas of gender, media, childcare, sociology of marriage and family, social change, and demographic change. [holthus@dijtokyo.org, www.dijtokyo.org]

Her publications include:

• Holthus, Barbara (2001) “‘Traum-’ oder ‘Alptraum’-Männer? Männerbilder der Frauenzeitschrift An an in den späten 90er Jahren” [‘Dream’ or ‘nightmare’ men? Portrayals of men in the Japanese women’s magazine An an in the late 1990s] in Hilaria Gössmann and Andreas Mrugalla (eds.) 11. Deutschsprachiger Japanologentag in Trier 1999, vol. 1. Münster, Hamburg, London: LIT-Verlag.
• Holthus, Barbara (2000) “Sexuality, Body Images and Social Change in Japanese Women’s Magazines” in Ulrike Wöhr and Barbara Hamill Sato (eds.) Gender and Modernity. Rereading Japanese Women’s Magazines. Kyoto: Nichibunken.
• Holthus, Barbara (1998) “Ishikawa Takeyoshi und Hanamori Yasuji – zwei männliche Frauenstimmen” [Ishikawa Takeyoshi and Hanamori Yasuji – two male female/feminine voices] in Steffi Richter (ed.) Japan Lesebuch III. Tübingen: Konkursbuch Verlag.

As we enter the 21st century in Japan, the climate surrounding giving birth and midwifery continues to worsen. The term “childbirth refugees” has even become a catchphrase. We are in a situation where women cannot give birth either safely or with peace of mind. This talk will focus on reproduction and medical care, in particular the business of birth and midwifery. By analyzing the profession’s historical development and how policy has affected it, I will demonstrate why these so-called “childbirth refugees” have come to exist.

First, I will discuss the changes that have occurred over time with respect to legally certified midwives and places to give birth. During the Meiji period, birth and midwifery was defined as a public health policy issue, and there was a plan to professionalize midwives. After the war, in 1958, the government (i.e., the Ministry of Health and Welfare) began a policy of establishing childbirth facilities. My research has shown that this policy gave rise to the “medicalization of childbirth.”

By analyzing the confusion surrounding birthing and midwifery in the first decade of the 21st century through policy texts, this talk will ponder the causes for our faltering facilities and medical care. I will also introduce the World Health Organization’s “Care Guidelines for Normal Births,” and compare them with Japan’s standards. Another related issue I will discuss is the relationship between poverty and the costs associated with pregnancy and childbirth. Given this background, there are clear future goals for Japan in terms of mother and child health/medical care policy. There is an obvious need to rebuild a safe and high quality environment where users feel secure. Achieving this requires the introduction and practice of clinical governance, as well as a paradigm shift towards the idea of human security – the responsibility to protect.

Makiko Nakayama is professor in the Department of Childhood Studies in the Faculty of Contemporary Social Studies at Dōshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts. She received her Ph.D. in gender studies from Ochanomizu University. Her research interest is gender studies, in particular policies regarding maternal and child health. [mnakayam@dwc.doshisha.ac.jp]

Her publications include:

• Nakayama, Makiko (2008) “Shussan no risuku kaihi o meguru poritikkusu” [Childbirth and the politics of risk evasion] in Osamu Kawagoe (ed.) Seimei to iu risuku. Tokyo: Hōsei Daigaku shuppankyoku: 103–142.
• Nakayama, Makiko (2007) “Ripurodakuchibu•herusu raitsu gainen to sono suii” [The concept of reproductive health-rights and its development] in Hiroko Hara, Makiko Nakayama and Miho Watanabe (eds.) Reproductive Health Rights and Violence Against Women. Ochanomizu University: 69–101.
• Nakayama, Makiko (2007) “Boshi kenkō techō kara mita san’iku to seisaku” [Birthing and policy as seen through maternity record books] in Etsuko Matsuoka (ed.) Umu, umanai, umenai – josei no karada to ikikata dokuhon. Tokyo: Kōdansha gendai shinsho: 194–215.

Since the late 19th century, the proportion of childless couples has increased continuously in almost all industrialized countries. In Germany, this rise has been particularly strong. The emergence and continuous development of reproductive technologies triggered a social process, the end of which is not yet foreseeable: In public as well as in scientific discussions the “benefits” of these medical developments have been hotly debated. The wide-ranging coverage of the issue supported the couples’ view that they will finally be able to fulfill their wish for a child by means of fertility treatment. It appears that childless couples consider reproduction technology the only possibility to achieve the goal set by society; i.e., to have a family with children of one’s own.

In the German language area, theoretical aspects and empirical investigations of medical reproduction technologies have – from a sociological perspective – only been considered in discussions at a relatively late stage. The first texts covering this issue were published in the second half of the 1980s. But studies focusing on the real effects of fertility treatments on the couples involved did not exist in Germany at all. Therefore, this study is innovative, because it reflects on the social implications of reproductive technologies, by developing an integrative model of coping and testing it empirically. Qualitative interviews with patients of reproductive medicine show that many of them had internalized a concept of a “mother and family role” which is inconsistent with their professional orientation, but still seems to have a major meaning for their life planning: all the interviewees talked without being asked about a mother’s employment and the respective combination of job and family. The interviews show that they obviously orient towards the female “normal biography”: marriage is considered as presupposition for the later birth of children with possible employment interruption. This presentation will focus on the consequences for a modern industrial society, particularly on social inequality, since the option to undergo a reproductive program is not given to every involuntarily childless couple.

Corinna ONNEN-ISEMANN

Corinna Onnen-Isemann is professor of sociology at the University of Vechta, Germany. She received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Oldenburg, Germany in 1986. In 1992 she received a Dr. rer. pol. (rerum politicarum) from the University of Oldenburg, Germany. Her research interests and specializations are sociology of the family, especially involuntary childlessness, gender and diversity in women’s careers, and relationships between elderly sisters. [www.uni-vechta.de/ibs/sozialwissenschaften/142.html]

Her publications include:

• Onnen-Isemann, Corinna (2008) “Der Kinderwunsch als Kampf zwischen Realität und Idealen – Analysen und Überlegungen anhand der Daten des DJI-Familiensurvey” [The desire to have children as a battle between reality and ideals] in Walter Bien and Jan Marbach (eds.) Familiale Beziehungen, Familienalltag und soziale Netzwerke. Ergebnisse der drei Wellen des Familiensurvey. Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag: 119–145.
  
• Onnen-Isemann, Corinna and Peter Kaiser (2007) Psychologie für den Alltag [Everyday life psychology]. Heidelberg: mvgVerlag.
  
• Onnen-Isemann, Corinna (2007) “Deutsche Perspektive: Kinderlosigkeit – französische Perspektive: Elternschaft? Familienpolitik und Fertilitätsunterschiede in Frankreich und Deutschland” [German perspective: childlessness – French perspective: Parenthood? Family policy and differences in fertility between Germany and France] in Diana Auth and Barbara Holland-Cunz (ed.) Grenzen der Bevölkerungspolitik. Opladen: Barbara Budrich: 165–180.
  

Kristina Iwata-Weickgenannt is researcher at the German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo (DIJ). She holds an M.A. from Free University of Berlin and a Ph.D. from the University of Trier, Germany. Her discipline is modern Japanese literature, specializing in gender and postcolonial studies as well as literary representations of social inequality. [iwata@dijtokyo.org]

Her publications include:

• Iwata-Weickgenannt, Kristina (2008) Alles nur Theater? Gender und Ethnizität bei der japankoreanischen Autorin Yū Miri [Gender and ethnicity – the Japan-Korean author Yū Miri], (= Iaponia Insula, Studien zu Kultur und Gesellschaft Japans, 18). München: Iudicium.
• Iwata-Weickgenannt, Kristina (2008) “Die Fremde als Heimat? Die Heimat als Fremde? Zu Identitätsdiskursen in der Literatur der koreanischen Minderheit in Japan” [Identity discourses in the literature of the Korean minority in Japan] in Michael Lackner (ed.) Zwischen Selbstbestimmung und Selbstbehauptung. Ostasiatische Diskurse des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts. Baden-Baden: Nomos: 105–133.
• Iwata-Weickgenannt, Kristina (2007) “Aidentiti no datsukōchiku toshite no ‘jibun sagashi’ – Yū Miri Hachigatsu no hate ron” [‘The search of Self’ as deconstruction of identity – Yū Miris Hachigatsu no hate] in Nihon Shakai Bungaku (ed.) Tokushū: ‘Zainichi’ Bungaku – kako, genzai, mirai. Shakai Bungaku, Vol. 26: 136–147.

This presentation will examine low fertility in connection with late marriage and the choice not to marry. Specifically, it will focus on the socioeconomic inequality between the households of unmarried grown children and those of their parents. Data will be presented and analyzed, and it will be argued that a) there is an apparent gender imbalance based on whether these children are living together with their parents, and b) there is a socioeconomic imbalance between grown unmarried children who live with their parents, and those who do not. The “parasite single” controversy points to the connection between low fertility and household composition. This controversy has created a polarization between young people who can live off their parents, and those who are unable to do so.

However, there is little basis or proof for this argument, and it offers no certainty as to when the split between marrying late/not marrying occurs. This presentation, however, looks closely not only at whether unmarried grown children live with their parents (or not), but also reveals the socioeconomic stratification that occurs among these unmarried grown children living in their parental home. This stratification is further examined by looking at two age groups of these singles: those between 20 and 39 years of age, and those over 40.

As a result of these analyses, it becomes clear that the economic situation (i.e., personal income) of singles is strongly affected by whether they live with their parents. Furthermore, the influence of the mother’s employment status on children differs by gender; only grown unmarried daughters are affected. Specifically, it seems that these daughters are expected to take over the household responsibilities from their working mothers. Another finding is that poverty is high among singles over the age of 40 living alone or with one parent. It is especially apparent that for low-income households there is a positive economic benefit to parents and children living together.

Sawako Shirahase is associate professor in the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology at the University of Tokyo. She received her Ph.D. in sociology from Oxford University. Her main research interests are sociology, especially social class and stratification, and population studies.

Her recent publications include:

• Shirahase, Sawako (2005) Shōshi kōrei shakai no mienai kakusa [Invisible Stratification in an Ageing Society: Gender, Generation, Class]. Tokyo: The University of Tokyo Press.
• Shirahase, Sawako (ed.) (2006) Henka suru shakai no fubyōdō [Inequality in a Changing Society: The Hidden Stratification of an Ageing Society] Tokyo: The University of Tokyo Press.
• Shirahase, Sawako (2007) “Women’s Economic Status and Fertility: Japan in Cross-national Perspective” in Frances McCall Rosenbluth (ed.) The Political Economy of Japan’s Low Fertility. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press: 37–59.

The fertility crisis changes the proportion of the population within each age-cohort in Germany: younger cohorts shrink and older cohorts grow. Current generations entering their “fertility window” (age 20–40) in Germany are facing pressure to support themselves and the growing older generations financially. But they also face pressure to have (more) children in order to increase the birth rate and slow down population shrinkage. Traditionally, the conflict of having babies and jobs was a conflict only for women, because for men, being a good father was consistent with earning a living, with the house- and care-work almost exclusively done by women. With changing gender ideologies and opportunities in the labor market for women, the conflict is increasingly felt by men, who are under pressure from their partners and their own feeling for equality to take over large portions of care-work. However, despite the rising integration of women into the labor market, the labor division in the home has remained quite traditional. As our research shows, the pattern is difficult to change in practice, even when the attitudes of both partners would wish it otherwise. Attitudes towards becoming a parent have also experienced a recent shift, with more women than men able to imagine themselves becoming parents. Changing expectations of what it means to be a “good mother” and “good father” may partly account for this shift. The presentation addresses the ways in which the demographic crisis puts new kinds of pressures and creates new kinds of inequalities among age-groups and between men and women in their decisions about parenthood and employment in contemporary and future German society.

Karl Alexander Röhler is researcher at the Institute for Sociology of the RWTH Aachen, Germany, specializing in gender studies. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Bremen in 2005. In 1997 he received an M.A. in sociology from the University of Leipzig. His research interests and specialization are sociology of emotions, work and gender, qualitative methods and method integration. [aroehler@soziologie.rwth-aachen.de]

His publications include:

• Röhler, Karl Alexander und Johannes Huinink (forthcoming) “Prospects of Labor Division within Pair Relationships: Housework in Eastern and Western Germany” in Judith Treas and Sonja Drobnic (eds.) Dividing the Domestic: Men, Women, and Household Work in Cross-National Perspective.
• Röhler, Karl Alexander (2006) “‘Work-life-balance’ ohne Erwerbsarbeit? – Arbeitslosigkeit, Männlichkeit und Vaterrolle” [‘Work-life balance’ without gainful employment?] in Harald Werneck, Martina Beham and Doris Palz (eds.) Aktive Vaterschaft – Männer zwischen Familie und Beruf. Göttingen: Psychosozial-Verlag: 143–154.
• Huinink, Johannes und Karl Alexander Röhler (2005) Liebe und Arbeit in Paarbeziehungen. Zur Erklärung geschlechtstypischer Arbeitsteilung in nichtehelichen und ehelichen Lebensgemein-schaften [Love and labor in couple relationships]. Würzburg: Ergon.

Heather HOFMEISTER

Heather Hofmeister is professor at the Institute for Sociology at RWTH Aachen University, Germany. She received her Ph.D. in sociology from Cornell University of Ithaca, New York in 2002. Her research interests and specializations are aging and the life course, gender, sociology of work and family, social change, social stratification and inequality, social institutions, international comparative research, culture, geography and spatial mobility, technical sociology, as well as quantitative research. [hhofmeister@soziologie.rwth-aachen.de, www.heather-hofmeister.de]

Her publications include:

• Hofmeister, Heather, Eric Widmer and Gil Viry (2009, forthcoming) “The Life Course Perspective” in Mobile Living across Europe, Volume II: Causes and Consequences of Job-Related Spatial Mobility in Cross-National Perspective. Opladen: Barbara Budrich.
• Baur, Nina and Heather Hofmeister (2009, forthcoming) “Some like them Hot: Germans views of male attractiveness”, Journal of Men’s Studies, special issue entitled Men’s Studies in Europe.
• Blossfeld, Hans-Peter and Heather Hofmeister (2006) Globalization, Uncertainty, and Women’s Careers: An International Comparison. Cheltenham and Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.

Volker Elis is researcher at the German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo (DIJ), working in the fields of geography and economics. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Bonn University. His research interests and specialization are regional policy and regional planning, labor market and employment, and modern economic history of Japan. [elis@dijtokyo.org]

His publications include:

• Elis, Volker (2005) Regionale Wirtschaftsförderung in Japan: der Wirtschaftsraum der Präfektur Shizuoka [Regional economic support in Japan: The case of Shizuoka prefecture]. Bonn: Bier’sche Verlagsanstalt.
• Elis, Volker (2008) “The Impact of the Ageing Society on Regional Economies” in Florian Coulmas, Harald Conrad, Annette Schad-Seifert und Gabriele Vogt (eds.) The Demographic Challenge: A Handbook about Japan. Leiden: Brill: 861–877.
• Lützeler, Ralph and Volker Elis (2007) “Der Demografische Wandel in Japan – Hintergründe und aktuelle Entwicklungen in der Sozial-, Beschäftigungs- und Regionalpolitik” [Demographic change in Japan – Background and recent developments in social, employment and regional policies], Wirtschaftspolitische Blätter, 54 (4): 705–720.

While several clues have been found in regards to differences in recent fertility changes between nations or among different social strata, it is less clear if intra-country regional patterns in fertility were likewise affected by the so-called Second Fertility Transition. To analyze this, Japan might be an especially appropriate case, since the extremely low non-marital birth rate allows us to neatly distinguish between the effects of marital fertility and changes in marriage behavior. As a combined measure at the prefectural level of levels and trends in marital fertility and the proportion of married women, the so-called Hutterite Indices developed by A. Coale are used. The analyzed time span stretches from 1975, when the Second Fertility Transition started in Japan, to 2005. One major finding is that recent fertility decline spreads diffusion-like from highly urbanized areas – Tokyo in particular – into the remainder of the country, thereby at least temporarily increasing regional differences in fertility rates. The process was mainly fuelled by a diffusion of female employment in the age group 25–29, leading to the postponement and eventual abandonment of many potential marriages. Nevertheless, even the most recent regional patterns of both marital fertility and marriage behavior still reflect historical and socio-cultural factors as well.

Ralph Lützeler is researcher at the German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo (DIJ). He received his Ph.D. in human geography from the Faculty of Letters at the University of Bonn. He received an M.A. from the Department of Geography at the University of Bonn. His research interests are urban and population geography of Japan, as well as demography and society. [luetzeler@dijtokyo.org, www.dijtokyo.org]

His publications include:

• Lützeler, Ralph (2008) Ungleichheit in der Global City Tōkyō. Aktuelle sozialräumliche Entwicklungen im Spannungsfeld von Globalisierung und lokalen Sonderbedingungen. [Inequality in the „global city“ Tokyo. New socio-spatial developments under the influences of globalization and local conditions]. (= Monographien aus dem Deutschen Institut für Japanstudien; 42). Munich: Iudicium.
• Lützeler, Ralph (2004) “Demography” in Josef Kreiner, Ulrich Möhwald and Hans Dieter Ölschleger (eds.) Modern Japanese Society (= Handbook of Oriental Studies-Handbuch der Orientalistik; 9). Leiden and Boston: Brill: 15–61.
• Lützeler, Ralph (2008, forthcoming) “Population Increase and ‘New-build Gentrification’ in Central Tōkyō”, Erdkunde, 62 (4).

In contrast to the comparatively high fertility rate in Okinawa, the lowest-low fertility rate found in Japan is in Sapporo, the capital city of the vast and verdant Hokkaido. This raises some of the most interesting questions on the regional differences of Japan’s fertility. Since 1974, Sapporo has consistently reflected Japan’s overall general decline in the Total Fertility Rate (TFR). However, the gap to the national average has grown in parallel with Tokyo to more than -20%. Factor analysis of the TFR indicates that low marital fertility and a low proportion of married women cause this lower fertility level with both factors having almost the same importance. In addition, while in most other government-designated major cities in Japan cohorts of women over 30 display a higher percentage of marriage and births (the so called “catch-up effect”), women in the same age group in Sapporo do not show this kind of behavior.

Results of multiple linear regression analysis of socioeconomic cross-section data from the year 2000 indicate that the distribution of educational status and industrial labor structure are the two most influential factors, both on age-specific first marriage rates and age-specific marital fertility rates in Japanese prefectures. In this context, Sapporo shows a relatively high proportion of university graduates among the male population and a concentration of the labor force in the service industry sector. Computer simulations combined with time-series regression analysis successfully reproduced the fertility decline in Sapporo from 1965 to 2000, by focusing on male high school graduates and the industry sector labor force. Regional stratification in fertility rates reflects regional socioeconomic structures. While it is neither easy nor required to reduce the regional differences in fertility rates, the reduction of disparities in living standards is surely necessary. If one could control the outmigration of the working age population through an enrichment of job opportunities, the number of marriages and births in the region could surely be increased.

Toshihiko Hara is professor of General Education at the School of Design of Sapporo City University. He received his Ph.D. in population sociology from the Faculty of Philosophy at the Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg i. Br., Germany. [hara@scu.ac.jp, www.scu.ac.jp/faculty/hara/]

His publications include:

• Hara, Toshihiko (2008) “Doitsu no shōshika to kazoku seisaku no tenkan” [Fertility Decline and Family Policy Change in Germany], Jinkōgaku Kenkyu, 42: 41–55.
• Hara, Toshihiko (2008) “Sapporo no shōshika” [Fertility Decline of Sapporo], SCU Journal of Design & Nursing, 2 (1.3).
• Hara, Toshihiko (2007) “Chiiki jinkō to chihō bunken no yukue” [Regional Population and the Future of Decentralization] in Makoto Atoh and Noriko Tsuya (eds.) Japanese Society in the Depopulation Age – Demography Library, vol.6. Tokyo: Hara Shobō: 187–207.

The presentation analyzes the delay in first births among East and West German women and men born in 1971, according to their social class and education. The data come from our German Life History Study and two nationally representative quantitative surveys conducted in 1997–98 and 2005, as well as narrative interviews conducted in 2005.

Median ages for first marriage and first births have been increasing in West Germany for more than three decades and in East Germany since 1991. The 1971 birth cohort is of particular interest, because it is the first cohort where the family formation process took place within re-unified Germany.

The East-West comparison allows the study of the impact of education and social class on the onset of parenthood within two German sub-societies characterized by different scales and structures of social inequality. East Germany was (and partly still is) a more egalitarian, homogeneous society with no class barriers, while West Germany has a pronounced class structure based on its education and training system. As a consequence we can observe not only fewer class differentials among East Germans than among West Germans, but also more cross-class partnerships in East Germany. Our qualitative material documents widely differing parenthood motives and behavior for women and men of identical class background. West German men avoid and delay commitments and thus complicate maternal aspirations for West German women, who in addition face problematic incompatibilities of career and family. In contrast, for both East German men and women, parenthood is taken for granted even under difficult economic circumstances, leading to a split pattern of early (traditional) and delayed parenthood.

Karl Ulrich Mayer is professor of sociology at the Center for Research on Inequalities and the Life Course (CIQLE), Yale University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Konstanz and an M.A. from Fordham University. His research interests and specializations are social stratification and mobility, sociology of aging and the life course, social demography, and occupational structures and labor market processes. [uli.mayer@yale.edu, www.yale.edu/sociology/faculty/pages/mayer]

His publications include:

• Mayer, K.U. and H. Solga (eds.) (2008) Skill Formation: Interdisciplinary and Cross-National Perspectives. New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Cortiona, K.S., J. Haumert, A. Lechinsky, K.U. Mayer and L. Trommer (eds.) (2008) Das Bildungswesen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Strukturen und Entwicklungen im Uberblick. [The German educational system. An outline of structures and developments]. Hamburg: Rowohlt.
• Diewald, M., A. Goedicke and K.U. Mayer (eds.) (2006) After the Fall of the Wall: Life Courses in the Transformation of East Germany. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.

Eva Schulze is director of the Berlin Institute for Social Research (BIS). She received her Ph.D. in sociology from the Technical University of Berlin. Her research interests and specializations are life course, family, and transformation east/west. [e.schulze@bis-berlin.de, www.bis-berlin.de]

Her publications include:

• Mayer, Karl Ulrich and Eva Schulze (forthcoming) Delaying Family Formation in East and West Germany – The Vocabulary of Motives, Career, Trajectories, Biographic Uncertainty and Partner Relationships of the Women born in 1971 in G.I. Andersson (ed.) The Demography of Europe: Trends and Perspectives. Berlin: Springer.
• Schulze, Eva, W. Friesdorf, A. Heine et.al. (eds.) (2007) Sentha – seniorengerechte Technik im häuslichen Alltag. Ein Forschungsbericht mit integriertem Roman. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.
• Schulze, Eva, C. Gather, T. Schmidt and E. Wascher (eds.) (2008) Selbständige Frauen in Berlin – Erste Ergebnisse aus verschiedenen Datenquellen im Vergleich, discussion paper 03/2008, Harriet Taylor Mill-Institut, Berlin.

Steffen Hillmert is professor of sociology at Tübingen University. He holds an M.A. in sociology from the University of Bamberg and a Ph.D. in sociology from Free University Berlin. His research interests include social inequality and stratification, life course, educational sociology, labor market, comparative research, research methods, and the sociology of science. [steffen.hillmert@uni-tuebingen.de, www.soziologie.uni-tuebingen.de/]

His publications include:

• Hillmert, Steffen and Karl Ulrich Mayer (eds.) (2004) Geboren 1964 und 1971 – Neuere Untersuchungen zu Ausbildungs- und Berufschancen in Westdeutschland [Born 1964 and 1971 – New research on educational and employment chances in Western Germany]. Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
• Hillmert, Steffen and Marita Jacob (2003) “Social inequality in higher education: is vocational training a pathway leading to or away from university?”, European Sociological Review, 19 (3): 319–334.
• Hillmert, Steffen (2001) Ausbildungssysteme und Arbeitsmarkt. Lebensverläufe in Großbritannien und Deutschland im Kohortenvergleich [Educational systems and the labor market. Comparison of cohort life courses in Britain and Germany]. Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher Verlag.

A rise in the prevalence of the “working poor” – people who because of their low income have no hope of upward social mobility – has become a big problem in developed nations. The bipolarization of labor is a result of the growing New Economy, itself a product of technological progress and globalization. In Japan’s case, the phenomenon emerged during a very short period in the late 1990s and with special characteristics. Young people are now the primary performers of unskilled labor. Young low-income people live with/off their parents (i.e., as “parasites”), postponing the real social problems that are at hand. These effects have combined to cause low fertility, an increase in disaffected youth, and an increase in unmarried singles living with their parents – all of which will have a grave effect on Japan’s society in the future. These problems cannot be solved through the regulation of education or labor. Issues of who will fill the growing need for manual labor, and how society will deal with the problem, must be addressed.

Masahiro Yamada is professor in the Faculty of Literature at Chūō University. He completed his graduate studies at the University of Tokyo. His research interest is sociology of the family. [m-yamada@tamacc.chuo-u.ac.jp]

His recent publications include:

Unpaid care work (raising children, caring for elderly parents or sick relatives, running a household) is key to understanding how countries provide for central and ongoing welfare needs. Women who do care work marginalize themselves in terms of earnings, financial dependence on husbands, risk of poverty, and their opportunity to do interesting work that requires significant training, skills, and commitment to the workplace. The extent of their marginalization differs from country to country, and it depends on variables such as: (1) labor force organization (i.e., questions such as: Is the labor market mobile and tolerant of interruptions? Are there permanent barriers to re-entering full-time work once a worker takes time off for a period of time? Does the labor market distinguish between core workers and marginal, lower paid ones?); (2) the character of the welfare state, especially the existence of policies to support working parents; (3) cultural values that influence out-of-wedlock births and expectations of women as mothers and homemakers; and (4) the ability and willingness of men to be involved in child rearing and other forms of care work. This paper argues that the opportunity costs to women of having children (i.e., the amount they stand to lose in earnings, pension payments and other benefits, the ease with which they can return to an ongoing career) is crucial to understanding total fertility rates in Japan and other countries. Exploring how opportunity costs are influenced by social policies, labor market structures, educational levels, marriage opportunities and risk of divorce, the paper attends to how decisions are made about the structure of the job market (i.e., especially the role of labor unions, employers and government officials) as a key to understanding women’s relative ease or difficulty in returning to full-time jobs after taking time off to raise children.

Patricia Boling is professor in the Department of Political Science and in the Women’s Studies Program of Purdue University. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research interests are comparative social policy, comparative welfare states, comparative family policies, public and private distinctions, as well as feminist theory. [boling@purdue.edu]

Her publications include:

• Boling, Patricia (2008) “Demography, culture, and policy: Understanding Japan’s low fertility”, Population and Development Review, 34 (2): 307–326.
• Boling, Patricia (2008, forthcoming) “State Feminism in Japan?”, U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal 33.
• Boling, Patricia (2007) “Policies to Support Working Mothers and Children in Japan” in Frances McCall Rosenbluth (ed.) The Political Economy of Japan’s Low Fertility. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press: 131–154.

Female employment patterns in West Germany have changed over time. While a large fraction of women born in the 1930s exited the labor market after marriage or first child, women of younger cohorts more often re-enter the labor market after family formation (not taking all of their allotted parental leave) and have to cope with the balance between family and work. The question addressed in this study is how social inequality of women has changed between cohorts and within cohorts over time.

One indicator to measure social inequality is the Socio-Economic-Index of Occupational Status (ISEI). The ISEI is a weighted index of education and wages. In this presentation I compare the occupational status of mothers and non-mothers. Mothers are furthermore differentiated in three subgroups: women who have their first child at the average age of first child birth of the cohort, women younger than average, and women older than average. I look at the occupational status at three different stages of the employment cycle: at the transition into labor market; before the birth of the first child; and at the age of 45 and later, when the family formation is mostly completed.

This study is based on a unique data set consisting of the IAB-Employment-Sample 1975–1995 with updated information from 1996 to 2003 and extended with data from the German Pension Insurance. The data include daily accurate information about times of employment and unemployment covering the employment cycle of women born after 1935. Variables such as education, profession, and birth dates of children of more than 100,000 women from West Germany are correlated.

Dana Müller, a sociologist, is research assistant at the Institute for Employment Research (Nuremberg, Germany) since 2004. Her research interests and specializations are life course, labor market, as well as compatibility between work and family. [Dana.Mueller@iab.de, http://fdz.iab.de]

Her publications include:

• Dundler, Agnes and Dana Müller (2006) “Erwerbsverläufe im Wandel: Ein Leben ohne Arbeitslosigkeit – nur noch Fiktion?” [A life without unemployment – nothing but fiction?] (= IAB-Kurzbericht; 27). Nuremberg: Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung.
• Müller, Dana (2007) “Der Traum einer kontinuierlichen Beschäftigung. Erwerbsunterbrechungen bei Männern und Frauen” [The dream of continuous employment], in Marc Szydlik (ed.) Flexibilisierung. Folgen für Arbeit und Familie. (Sozialstrukturanalyse). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften: 47–67.
• Fischer, Gabriele, Florian Janik, Dana Müller and Alexandra Schmucker (2009, forthcoming) “The IAB establishment panel. Things users should know”, Schmollers Jahrbuch. Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Vol. 129. Nuremberg: Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung.

Barbara Holthus, a sociologist, is researcher at the German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo (DIJ). She holds a Ph.D. in Japanese studies from the University of Trier. Her research interests and specializations are in the areas of gender, media, childcare, sociology of marriage and family, social change, and demographic change. [holthus@dijtokyo.org, www.dijtokyo.org]

Her publications include:

• Holthus, Barbara (2001) “‘Traum-’ oder ‘Alptraum’-Männer? Männerbilder der Frauenzeitschrift An an in den späten 90er Jahren” [‘Dream’ or ‘nightmare’ men? Portrayals of men in the Japanese women’s magazine An an in the late 1990s] in Hilaria Gössmann and Andreas Mrugalla (eds.) 11. Deutschsprachiger Japanologentag in Trier 1999, vol. 1. Münster, Hamburg, London: LIT-Verlag.
• Holthus, Barbara (2000) “Sexuality, Body Images and Social Change in Japanese Women’s Magazines” in Ulrike Wöhr and Barbara Hamill Sato (eds.) Gender and Modernity. Rereading Japanese Women’s Magazines. Kyoto: Nichibunken.
• Holthus, Barbara (1998) “Ishikawa Takeyoshi und Hanamori Yasuji – zwei männliche Frauenstimmen” [Ishikawa Takeyoshi and Hanamori Yasuji – two male female/feminine voices] in Steffi Richter (ed.) Japan Lesebuch III. Tübingen: Konkursbuch Verlag.

Axel Klein is researcher at the German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo (DIJ). He holds an M.A., Ph.D. and a Habilitation in Japanese studies from the University of Bonn. His research interests include the political system of Japan, social policy and social stratification, religion and politics. [klein@dijtokyo.org]

His publications include:

• Klein, Axel (2008) Pictures at an Election or How to Get Votes in Japan (documentary film, 68 min.). Tokyo: German Institute for Japanese Studies.
• Klein, Axel (2006) Das politische System Japans [The political system of Japan]. Bonn: Bier’sche Verlagsanstalt.
• Klein, Axel (1998) Das Wahlsystem als Reformobjekt – Eine Untersuchung zu Entstehung und Auswirkungen politischer Erneuerungsversuche am Beispiel Japan [The electoral system as subject of reform – the case of Japan]. Bonn: Bier’sche Verlagsanstalt.