TOKYO, July 21 (UPI) -- A majority of Japanese mothers say they find child rearing overwhelming despite government efforts to relieve their burden, authorities reported Wednesday.
The government found that more mothers with children under six years of age felt overwhelmed by the task of raising their offspring than those who found the job joyful.
One key factor for that sense of burden was the economic cost of having children. Another factor was that stay-at-home mothers felt more isolated from society as a result of being a parent.
Japan has one of the lowest birthrates in the world, and the government launched a five-year plan in 2000 to encourage people to have more children. But while the so-called New Angel Plan has enabled more mothers to work and raise children at the same time, the sense of burden mothers feel in raising children has not been alleviated, the government said.
The birthrate in Japan was 1.29 children per couple in 2003, down from 1.34 in 1999.
