Article Sidebar

THE CHILDFREE PHENOMENON IN JAPAN
Submitted
April 27, 2025
Accepted
August 30, 2025
Published
August 31, 2025
Download
PDF
Statistic
Read Counter : 288 Download : 155

Main Article Content

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to explore the childfree phenomenon prevalent in Japan. From year to year, Japan continues to experience a decline in birth rates, which makes it an interesting country to study. From the phenomenon occurring in Japan, the author also wants to find out how the childfree issue is becoming more widespread in Japan, how Islamic law responds to this issue, and how ethics views it.


Methods – This research uses the literature study research method, so this research is complemented by various pre-existing sources and thus can strengthen the data. The research data were obtained from books, articles, and other writings related to the topic of the problem.


Findings – Japan has experienced a decline in birth rates since the 1970s, which has been exacerbated by the emergence of the childfree trend among the younger generation. Economic factors are the reason many young people choose not to have children. In addition, philosophical views related to living a freer life without traditional pressures or social norms that demand a brilliant life, which creates its own burden, also influence this decision. In Islamic law, the practice of childfree by aborting a fetus after four months of pregnancy is prohibited. However, Islam itself is a religion that respects the sanctity of children, as children are the next generation who will become Khalifah on this earth.


Research contribution/limitations – This study’s results provide insight into the childfree phenomenon that is rampant in Japan from the perspective of Islamic law. However, this research also has limitations, as the method used is limited to a literature study without going directly to the field.


Originality/value – This research adds references related to childfree from the perspective of Islamic law, where childfree itself is a contemporary study whose practices have been rampant; therefore, Islamic law also offers answers.

Keywords

Childfree Japan Country Islamic Law

Article Details

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Khanan Saputra, Noor Kholifah Hidayati

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
Author Biography

Noor Kholifah Hidayati, Faculty of Law, Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto, Indonesia

Dosen Fakultas Hukum Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto

How to Cite
Khanan Saputra, & Noor Kholifah Hidayati. (2025). THE CHILDFREE PHENOMENON IN JAPAN: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY FROM A CONTEMPORARY ISLAMIC LEGAL PERSPECTIVE. Al-Mawarid Jurnal Syariah Dan Hukum (JSYH), 7(2), 261–280. https://doi.org/10.20885/mawarid.vol7.iss2.art4
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX

References

  1. Aaron. (2023). Cost of Living in Japan: Moving to Japan in 2023. The Broke Backpacker. Diakses dari: https://www.thebrokebackpacker.com/cost-of-living-in-japan/#:~:text=Living%20in%20Japan%20is%20about,expensive%20countries%20to%20live%20in pada 12 Maret 2023.
  2. Agrillo, C., & Nelini, C. (2008). Childfree by choice: A review. Journal of cultural geography, 25(3), 347-363.
  3. Al-Ghazali, Imam. (1990). Ihya’ Ulumuddin, Jilid I, Terj. Muhammad Zuhri. Semarang: Asy-Syifa.
  4. Antara Sumbar. (2015). Asli: Panti Jompo Pilihan Terakhir Bagi Lansia. Antara News. Diakses dari: https://sumbar.antaranews.com/berita/137897/asli-panti-jompo-pilihan-terakhir-bagi-lansia pada 1 Juni 2024.
  5. Aprilyanti, M., & Rahmawati, E. S. (2022). Childfree in The Perspective of Al-Ghazali and Nur Rofiah. Sakina: Journal of Family Studies, 6(2).
  6. Asy-Syaukani. (1429). Nail Al-Authar min Asrar Muntaqa Al-Akhbar. Cetakan kedua. Penerbit Dar Ibnul Qayyim.
  7. Averus, K. (2024). Fakta-fakta Anjloknya Angka Kelahiran di Jepang, Tren Sexless dan Childfree?. Detik Health. Diakses dari: https://health.detik.com/berita-detikhealth/d-7217005/fakta-fakta-anjloknya-angka-kelahiran-di-jepang-tren-sexless-dan-childfree pada 21 Agustus 2025.
  8. Chua, A. L. B., Neal, J. W., & Neal, Z. P. (2025). Trends in the Prevalence of Childfree Women in the Philippines, 1993–2022. Journal of Family Issues, 46(6), 966-980.
  9. Fahkevi, Y. R., & Sari, D. M. (2025). Childfree Marriages in Islamic Perspective: A Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah Analysis of Spousal Choice and Reproductive Intentions. Legtimacy: Journal Of Law and Islamic Law, 1(1), 20-30.
  10. Fahruddin Faiz. (2024). Filsafat Moral; Dari Al Ghazali, Pakubuwana IV, Lawrence Kohlberg, hingga Hans Jonas. Bandung: Mizan Media Utama.
  11. Febriansyah, F. (2023). Childfree Controversy in the Perspective of Islamic Law and Human Rights. El-Izdiwaj: Indonesian Journal of Civil and Islamic Family Law, 4(1), 1-19.
  12. Frejka, Tomas. (2017). “Childlessness in the United States.” Demographic Research Monographs: 159–79. DOI: 10.1007/978-3- 319-44667-7_8.
  13. Hadiati, E., Setianingrum, D. A., & Dwiyanto, A. (2025). Understanding Childlessness: Islamic Law Perspective Involving a Social Media Influencer and Their Impacts. KnE Social Sciences, 10(14), 786-795.
  14. Hara, T. (2008). Increasing childlessness in Germany and Japan: Toward a childless society?. International Journal of Japanese Sociology, 17(1), 42-62.
  15. Harahap, I., Siregar, F. A., & Hariyanto, E. (2025). Understanding The Rise of Childfree Marriage: Avoiding Toxic Family, Being Happy and Well Without Children Despite Contradiction With Maqashid al-Sharia. Al-Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum Islam, 10(1), 303-329.
  16. Hidayah, Zidni Amaliyatul, et. Al. (2023). Childfree: Mengurangi Populasi Manusia Untuk Kesejahteraan Dalam Pandangan Islam Dan Sosial Sains. Prosiding Konferensi Integrasi Interkoneksi Islam Dan Sains. Vol. 5. pp 174 – 180.
  17. Indah, D. N., & Zuhdi, S. (2022, May). The childfree phenomenon in the perspective of human rights and maqashid al-shari’ah. In International Conference on Community Empowerment and Engagement (ICCEE 2021) (pp. 222-231). Atlantis Press.
  18. Irade, A. S. L., Adam, A., & Taufan, M. (2024). Hakikat Tujuan Pernikahan dalam Pandangan Hukum Islam. Prosiding Kajian Islam dan Integrasi Ilmu di Era Society (KIIIES) 5.0, 3(1), 194-197.
  19. Jasnain, Tilsep. et.al (2022). Kajian Ontologi, Epistemologi Dan Aksiologi Dalam Pendidikan Islam Di Indonesia. Al-Fatih: Jurnal Pendidikan dan Keislaman. Vol. V. No. 1.
  20. Kaltsum, T. J., Sayoga, N. R. A., Rosyidi, M. Y. A., Luhur, D. W. M., & Hapsoh, S. (2022). The Study of Occidentalism: The Existence of Childfree In The East-West Paradigm. International Journal of Engineering Business and Social Science, 1, 29-37.
  21. Kepplinger, E. (2024). “The Maqāṣid Are the Qibla of the Jurists”: A Critical Analysis of Contemporary References to and Usages of Abū Ḥāmid Al-Ghazālī’s Dictum. Religions, 15(2), 165.
  22. KH. Husein Muhammad. (2019). Fiqh Perempuan Refleksi Kiai atas Tafsir Wacana Agama dan Gender. Yogyakarta: IRCiSoD.
  23. Lubis, R. (2024). Fenomena Childfree di Jepang: Penyebab Kelahiran Terendah dalam Sejarah. Marwah Kepri. Diakses dari: https://marwahkepri.com/2024/02/28/fenomena-childfree-di-jepang-penyebab-kelahiran-terendah-dalam-sejarah/#:~:text=JEPANG%20(marwahkepri.com)%20%E2%80%93%20Jepang%20mengalami%20penurunan%20tingkat,persentase%20tertinggi%20wanita%20berusia%2050%20tahun%20yang pada 21 Agustus 2025.
  24. Ma'mun, S., Usmani, S. A. A., & Maliki, I. A. (2023). Childfree Phenomenon Among Urban Muslims: A Multidisciplinary Examination of Science and Morality. Akademika: Jurnal Pemikiran Islam, 28(1), 111-124.
  25. Mandujano-Salazar, Y. Y. (2019). Exploring the construction of adulthood and gender identity among single childfree people in Mexico and Japan. Sage Open, 9(2), 2158244019855844.
  26. Muntaha, A. (2021). Hukum Asal Childfree dalam Kajian Fiqih Islam. NU Online. Diakses dari: https://islam.nu.or.id/nikah-keluarga/hukum-asal-childfree-dalam-kajian-fiqih-islam-CuWgp pada 12 Maret 2023.
  27. Nazir, M. (2003). Metode Penelitian. Jakarta: Ghalia Indonesia.
  28. Neal, Jennifer Watling, and Zachary P. Neal. 2021. “Prevalence and Characteristics of Childfree Adults in Michigan (USA).” PLoS ONE 16, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252528
  29. Neal, Z. P., & Neal, J. W. (2024). Sample, time, and wording effects on estimating the prevalence of childfree adults: Insights from Japan. Plos one, 19(4), e0302184.
  30. Nemoto, K. (2008). Postponed marriage: Exploring women’s views of matrimony and work in Japan. Gender & Society, 22 (2), DOI: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243208315868.
  31. Nikmah, L. S., Nugroho, K., & Hamidu, K. (2025). The Childfree Phenomenon in Emile Durkheim’s Sociology and Qur’anic Perspective: A Classical and Contemporary Interpretation. Solo International Collaboration and Publication of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(02), 325-344.
  32. Nugroho, D. A., Alfarisy, F., Kurniawan, A. N., & Sarita, E. R. (2022). Tren Childfree dan Unmarried di kalangan Masyarakat Jepang. COMSERVA Indonesian Jurnal of Community Services and Development, 1(11), 1023-1030.
  33. Nugroho, R., Nafila, R. I., & Saiban, K. (2023). Childfree Marriage with Regards to Islamic Jurisprudence Principles. AT-TURAS: Jurnal Studi Keislaman, 10(2), 196-208.
  34. Nurjanah, S., & Nur, I. (2022). Childfree: Between the Sacredness of Religion, Law and the Reality of Society. Al-'Adalah, 19(1), 1-28.
  35. Nurjanah, S., & Nur, I. (2022). Gender Fiqh: Mobilization of Gender-Responsive Movement on Social Media. Ijtihad: Jurnal Wacana Hukum Islam Dan Kemanusiaan, 22(1), 1-18.
  36. Oliver Leaman. (2019). Islam and Morality; A Philosophical Introduction. London: Bloomsbury Academic: Great Britain.
  37. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. (2005). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  38. Rahayu, S, Lisye. (2023). Ma'ruf Amin Tak Sepakat Childfree: Nikah Itu untuk Berkembang Biak. Detik News. Diakses dari: https://news.detik.com/berita/d-6563984/maruf-amin-tak-sepakat-childfree-nikah-itu-untuk-berkembang-biak pada 16 Maret 2023.
  39. Ramadhan, A. R. (2025, April). Reproductive Rights and Childfree in Islamic Law: A Juridical and Social Analysis. In Proceeding International Conference on Religion, Science and Education (Vol. 4, pp. 975-982).
  40. Salminawati, et.al (2025). Ontologi, Epistemologi dan Aksiologi dalam Perspektif Barat dan Islam. Indonesian Research Journal on Education. Vol. 5. No. 1. https://irje.org/index.php/irje.
  41. Salsabillah, W. (2024). Economy in the Childfree Era: A Comparative Study of Japan and Indonesia. ARRUS Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 4(4), 556-565.
  42. Sayyaf, R., Anggraeni, L., Airlangga, W. I., & Saffinee, S. S. (2024). Criticizing Childfree in the View of Radical Libertarian and Cultural Feminism: Maqāṣid al-Sharī ‘ah Perspective. MUWAZAH: Jurnal Kajian Gender, 16(2), 219-236.
  43. Sodiq, N., & Huda, M. C. (2023). Understanding Childfree: A Phenomenological Perspective and Islamic Law. Journal of Islamic Studies and Civilization, 1(02), 201-225.
  44. Softdev, Ajay. (2021). Introduction to Epistemology, Ontology and Axiology in Philosophy. Medium: Human stories & ideas Webpage. https://medium.com/@softdev_ajay/introduction-to-epistemology-ontology-and-axiology-in-philosophy-5a2fc0b726ac
  45. Sunarto, K. (2004). Pengantar Sosiologi. Jakarta: Lembaga Penerbit FEUI.
  46. Tanaka, K., & Lowry, D. (2018). Stigma and childlessness in historical and contemporary Japan. In Voluntary and involuntary childlessness (pp. 337-353). Emerald Publishing Limited.
  47. The Mainichi. (2024). Japan has highest percentage of 'lifelong childless' women among developed countries. The Mainichi. Diakses dari: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240622/p2a/00m/0li/008000c pada 27 April 2025.
  48. Venkatesan, S., & Murali, C. (2021). “Childless? Childfree? Neither, Just ME”: pronatalism and (m) otherhood in Paula Knight’s The Facts of Life. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics.
  49. Wang, Y. (2023). Understanding the phenomenon of childlessness in Japan: Causes and potential solutions. In SHS Web of Conferences (Vol. 180, p. 01006). EDP Sciences.
  50. Widhiutami, B. S., & Santoso, B. (2025). Reasons for Delaying Marriage By Japanese Women and its Impact and the Shoushika Phenomenon in the Japan Reporter Youtube Channel: Japan's Rise of Unmarried and Childless Women| Birthrate Crisis (EP. 4). Journal La Sociale, 6(5), 1532-1545.
  51. Worldometer. Japan Population (Live). Worldometer. Diakses dari: https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/japan-population/ pada 21 Agustus 2025.
  52. Yunus, F. M., Nurliyana, S., Jihad, A. A., Amri, A., & Yunus, S. M. (2023). Childfree and Its Relevance to'AZL from the Perspective of Taqiyuddin An-Nabhani. PETITA, 8, 219.
No Related Submission Found