Message from mhagiwara

[Anonymous]

For the past several years Japan has suffered from an extremely low growth rate. There are several elements that have led to this severe problem, among those the treatment of postpartum women. Traditionally, expectant women and women with young children, are expected to remain at home to take care of the children. Their husbands are to be the source of income while the woman takes care of the needs at home. Women are expected to leave their jobs once pregnant, and even though given maternity leave so they may return to work, many do not. This traditional view, however, has led to a movement among today's modern woman to shy away from getting pregnant because they realize that having a child essentially means giving up their careers. Japanese women want to aspire to be more than just mothers-they want to fulfill their own acheivements and goals. Corporations and companies are now beginning to accommodate to this trend and providing for better conditions for expecting women and those who have young children, hoping that this can ignite a trend towards positive population growth.