Babies In Japan Can Now Cry In Public

Posters and stickers bearing “It’s okay to cry” would now come up across restaurants and public places in Japan allowing the little ones to cry out in open. This comes in the backdrop of slumping birthrate and shrinking population in Japan. As a counter measure, Governors of 13 states have joined hands in supporting the cause under the “We love babies” project which aims at creating a society that has more tolerance towards crying babies. Japanese society seems to be intolerant of children and at times even go to the extent of refusing to host nurseries or parks as it creates a buzz of playing children. “Its okay to cry campaign is aimed at a change in the social situation, whereby parents do not anymore feel sorry for people nearby when their babies start crying” Eikei Suzuki, governor of Mei, said at a political gathering.

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Japan has been witnessing a steady decline in the birth rate in recent years, with a big chunk of current population already ageing, posing serious challenges for Japanese economy and labour in the long run. As per Health ministry records, the number of newborn babies in 2017 was only 946,060, a second straight low in a row.