Abstract
Nowadays, the falling birthrate and the problem of an aging population has become an issue across East Asia. South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore have been experiencing lower total fertility rates than Japan. Within a short time, China and these ASEAN countries have changed from aging societies to aged societies.
The above trend, it is argued, resulted partly from an increase in the education levels of women, which has caused the appearance of more career women at the expense of raising children or even their marriages. It is also believed that the rapidly increasing costs associated with children’s education have contributed greatly to the emergence of this serious social problem. Although various measures have been taken to deal with this issue, an effective way has yet to be found to improve this serious situation in East Asia.
