Where Japan Leads, The Church Follows

The Mass I usually attend was once fairly crowded but over the course of a few years, the number of parishioners has drastically thinned out. Often in 2025, I'd see one whole section of the church empty or with only three or four worshipers sitting in the pews. The parish is almost entirely made up of old people and witnessing such a sharp drop off in attendance has me thinking of what's been going on in Japan.

Of all the countries in the world, Japan has the highest proportion of elderly citizens and as of 2022, a little over 29% of the population was above the age of 65. That number is expected to climb in the next few decades. Japan's seniors also live a very long time and the country is home to the largest number of centenarians on the planet. While all this is going on, the nation has also been suffering from a low fertility rate. Since 1974, the number of children being born from each woman in her lifetime has remained below the replacement threshold.

Economic factors are usually cited for this downturn. Japan continues to suffer from a decades-long economic slump and regular employment has seen significant decreases over the years. On average, temporary and part-time jobs pay 53% less each month when compare to regular employment. With such financial insecurities, many young people feel they can't afford to have kids. Poor work / life balance and a lack of affordable daycare also contributes to couples putting off having children.

Another interesting aspect of the aging of Japan is the blame some place on the nation's young people. They claim newer generations have created a low desire culture where both sexes express little ambition to court each other. The unflattering term “herbivore men” is used to describe young males who are not interested in getting married or even having a girlfriend. “Parasite singles” typically describe young unmarried women who continue to live with their parents so they can enjoy a more carefree lifestyle.

Some have suggested Japan's young people no longer have enough places where they can interact. Others theorize there's a growing division between the sexes about what's expected of them when it comes to dating and relationships. High levels of anxiety might also scare young men and women away from each other. Whatever the reasons for this apparent lack of romantic initiative, rates of virginity among 20 and 30 year-olds are still increasing with a 2022 survey finding about 40% of unmarried men in their 20s have never been on a date while 25% of young adult women said they never dated.

Rural villages have been hit the hardest by these declines in young people with empty houses and closed schools becoming commonplace. Government incentives hoping to encourage young adults to move to these rural communities have had little success. One artist from the village of Nagoro wanted to make her aging community look more active so she created scarecrow-like dolls to fill the void. Perhaps my church should have some of these dolls placed in the pews to make Mass feel more crowded.

Japan is a prime example of the dire consequences that eventually arise when we fail to encourage and support our young people on their difficult journey into full-fledged adulthood. Over the years, I've brought my concerns regarding Catholic singles to my pastors, the regional bishop and the Cardinal but none of them considered what I had to say to be a priority. One pastor in particular insisted as people got older and thought more about life and death, they would ultimately come back to church. Fast forward to 2025 and it's obvious that hasn't happened. It won't happen either because more and more people feel they can do without religion.

Much like Japan's incentives to convince young people to move to those rural villages, the Church's various campaigns to increase its membership appear to have missed the mark. This is especially clear when I look at all those recently empty pews.