15th May, 2008

CORAL VASS

My two-year-old-son, who usually receives a lot of attention here in Tokyo because of his blue eyes and blonde hair, was recently upstaged by a pet dog, dressed in a pink dress, sitting in a pram. As we stood side-by-side, my son was ignored as passers by only had eyes for the dog in the pram.

It is not uncommon for little girls to “play mothers” and dress up the family dog or cat in dolls clothes, push the pet around in a pram and treat it like a baby. But an adult man or woman doing the same thing might raise questions about their mental well-being, that is unless they live in Japan.

One of the biggest things I’ve noticed since living in Japan, is the number of pet-owners who treat their dogs as they would their own children, nurturing them with love and affection. I had seen this on a lesser scale in Australia, but in a city with more than 12 million people, everything is magnified in Tokyo. I soon became aware of the number of stores for dogs and dog owners, with merchandise ranging from the usual pet related products to designer clothes and diamond collars for the beloved pooch.

There is a huge market in Japan for dog owners with new services such as dog parties, doggie stress relief and massage, aromatherapy and “a session in an oxygen capsule” all available for the family pet. There is even the option of taking out pet life insurance policies for the furry family member. Despite the global food crisis, I recently read that the Japanese spend more than $2 billion a year on dog food alone. For a country with one of the lowest birth rates in the world, pet ownership is on the rise. Dogs in Japan, now outnumber children aged 10 and under. So while Japan's human population is shrinking, the nation’s dog population is growing.

From what I’ve seen, Japanese people do love children. But based on these statistics, it would seem there is a general preference for the upkeep of a dog than the demands of rearing a child. That’s not to say the Japanese do not have the natural human maternal or paternal instincts. Clearly most people do, however it’s the dogs that benefit from the need to express these natural instincts, not a human child. And so Japan, one of the world’s biggest consumer societies, has sought to satisfy a human need by providing a substitute and supplying all consumer-related products to meet demand.

Being a parent myself, I have to ask the question: Why would some Japanese people choose to substitute caring for children with caring for a pet?

Some people have suggested a combination of reasons for this trend in Japan, including unhealthy family life, poor parent role modelling, workaholic fathers, career driven society, lack of intimacy between husbands and wives, the lack of disciplining children, difficulty in finding the perfect partner due to romanticised Hollywood notions on relationships, choosing to marry later in life, the cost of raising children and Japan’s delay in introducing maternity leave, flexible working hours and day-care.

Although the Japanese government, along with other governments around the world, are taking steps to encourage women to embrace motherhood, low birth rates are becoming more and more common in the developed world. It would seem the countries that are technologically advanced, financially strong or consumer-indulgent, are the countries suffering from low birth rates, ageing populations and a potential future population crisis.

There is a sign out the front of a café, not far from where I live in Tokyo, which says: “No children allowed. Pets are welcome.” If people continue to choose pets as substitutes for children, signs like these may unfortunately become more common in Japan or even around the world.

Parenting may be hard work. Parenting requires self-sacrifice, it’s demanding and is a 24 hour job...but it’s infinitely rewarding and there is no real substitute for the gift of children.

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