Nearly one in four childless Japanese do not want to have any children, a newspaper survey has revealed.
The results of Mainichi Shimbun's survey of 1,077 people across Japan, published Monday, suggested one reason for the nation's declining birthrate.
When childless couples were asked how many children they wanted, 48.2 percent said two, followed by 23.3 percent who responded they didn't want to have any. By gender, 20.6 percent of men and 25.7 percent of women said they did not want any children.
In response to a multiple-answer question about the reasons for not wanting children, 40 percent said childbirth and childcare appeared troublesome, while 30.8 percent referred to economic reasons.
Among men who did not want children, 36.7 percent said they would rather spend money on hobbies than on bringing up children.
Among women who did not want children, 46.5 percent said giving birth to and educating children seemed troublesome.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
