[GoNative]

I agree with Nyororin that one of the main factors is money. From my own observations and experience I'd make the following comments.

Japan does very little in my opinion to assist young families. Tax breaks and family assistance payments are minimal. Minimal when you consider that the low birth rate is such a recognised issue. Overall the economy in Japan is in a shambles and not getting any better. The low birth rate and aging population is not helping one bit. Average pay has actually been declining and job security is not what it once was. Minimum wage here is really very low and barely provides a livable income. There are many working poor in Japan.

The government does provide a payment after a birth that generally covers most of the costs of the birth (assuming there were no complications).There is paid maternity leave here but it is only for 6 weeks before the birth and 8 weeks after (assuming you have insurance). There is quite a lot of pressure on women to not continue working after giving birth (whether that be direct pressure in the workplace or just general societal and cultural norms) and as one of the articles above stated if they try and get back into the workforce it's usually not possible to just pick up and continue with the career they may previously have had. They often find themselves in part time or casual positions earning little more than minimum wage which barely covers the cost of daycare.

Costs of education and raising kids is not cheap and when you are often losing a full time wage out of the relationship after the wife stops working it really isn't easy. Having more than one kid can make it really very difficult.

For there to be another baby boom in this country the economy would really have to turn around. But of course that's really difficult with such an aging population and low birth rate. I believe Japan really needs to open up it's borders and have a comprehensive immigration program for skilled workers. I can't see any other solution unless they are prepared to make some major changes to things to make it easier for families to have more children.