Are Babies a National Resource or a Family Affair?
Interests, Ideologies and Outcomes in the Intimate Realm of Reproduction in 20th Century Japan Tiana Norgren, Columbia University Over the course of the 20th century, Japanese elites have often conceived of reproduction in nationalist or statist terms as something that individuals should either engage in or refrain from in accordance with larger political or economic goals. Imperial expansion dictated the need for more, better quality babies; total defeat in war rendered those babies burdensome; and rapid economic growth and rapid aging again focused attention on the need for human resources. The goals have changed over time, but the notion that couples should make childbearing decisions based on the national interest has remained constant. The average Japanese person, however, has generally not seen things the same way. He or she usually has much more parochial concerns about childbearing, centering on his individual family’s standard of living or her individual health and well-being.
