Digital escorts are cheap, huh?

I don't know of any, but the internet is large; so there's bound to be something out there in English.

It just seems to me that sociologically, Japan just cannot go on like it is. Something has to give.

**shaking head** All of those poor, live, neglected, BEAUTIFUL Japanese women . . . left alone. WHAT are these guys thinking . . . =)

It's not gonna boost your natural growth, I'm afraid. For a shrinking society that is getting older and older (like all developed countries) it seems hardly good in the long run. And it's not the politicians who should change the people's mindset, but rather the "culture creators", I suppose - movie directors, book writers, mangha artist, musicians, celebrities. It's about the culture and values, after all...

Not if what Bansama says about them expecting obscene amounts of money from us is true. I'll take less a less demanding, more realistic woman, thank you. Otherwise...
<Professor Farnsworth>: Good news everyone!

What? Aren't there enough people on earth? Can't feed 7 billion, you think 12 will be any easier? We can talk when we get there ('bout 2050).

It's nothing to do with culture. It's all about the money. Do you know how expensive it is, for example, to get married? Raise a pre-schooler? Raise an elementary school age child? A Junior high one? A senior high one?
I can tell you now, it's an obscene amount of money that just continues to increase. Unlike many countries, things such as eduction, while compulsory, are also not free. There is nothing a manga artist can do to change that.
Do you know why the population is decreasing? As basic as it gets, part of it is due to the expected amounts of money a relationship and the resulting children will demand; the long work hours expected by the corporate culture; the poor domestic economy; the lack of government help in easing the related strains; the lack of a "melting pot" society (ie, very little movement of "foreigners", etc., to help sustain the "natural growth" of the population.
All of which, at the end of the day, are in the firm control of a government that would rather spend time bickering with each other, taking backhanders, and generally being completely and utterly shite. How many other countries out there have the ability to "boast" about going through five prime ministers in a four year period? Just for a small indication of how far up shite street we are.

The expenses of getting married are ALL about culture. Just because all your family, family's family, and all their bloody neighbours expect that you'd invite them to your wedding,.
Agreed. But still many people choose to bear all these expenses. Fortunately - otherwise we'd all be extinct by now.
But anyway - I don't think simply complaining on a video game forum can change it. Maybe if you complained on a Japanese political forum, you could change a thing or two, or at least be heard by the gov't?
You mentioned women's too high financial expectations, but these expectations must have some root cause (like - they tend to get what they want). When you find a girl you like, why don't you try to discuss her attitude, rather than just dump her and go jerk off? (no offense - it's a general 'you' kinda statement, nothing aimed at you personally , of course!)

While Japan may be in a more serious condition than most (I don't know since I don't live there nor know the facts), I don't think the rest of the world is that far behind them for various reasons. I just cannot see the world as it is now continuing on as it is without severe problems like nothing we have seen before developing. Sociologically speaking, I think the whole world is fucked.

A sad commentary about a country I find hard to recognize as the Japan of only a few decades ago. I watched a disturbing documentary a few months ago about the suicide rate in Japan. The young Japanese folks were nonchalant about their attempts to end their lives.

Please, don't make the mistake of comparing weddings, etc., in one country to the norm for your country. With some Googling, you'd probably get a greater idea of weddings over here (of special interest would be the "extravagant" weddings of the eighties. Only South Korea could probably come close to those. As it is, the cost of weddings in Japan are not just borne by the Wife's/Groom's family (or whatever the convention is for the West these days), but is ultimately paid for by everyone who attends*. But that still doesn't offset the horrendous costs demanded by the Wedding halls.
* Gifts are not given at weddings. The norm here is to offer a cash gift. This is the same for pretty much every occasion, including funerals.
In Japan, an ever decreasing number. It's one reason why the birth rate is declining year on year.
Hah. One, I doubt such a forum where actual members of the government will listen to exists. And two, I'm not Japanese. I only live here. As such, I have no say in anything. Non-Japanese do not have the right to vote. And it's unlikely they ever will.
Of course there's bound to be root causes. The wide ranging ones would be the ever increasing cost of living, difficulties in finding employment (this after all, is the country where at one point fairly recently, the best job an educated woman could expect was to operate an elevator) and so forth.

Huh... So if women could get better jobs, it may lower their financial expectations, as well as possibly giving the male population a bit more free time.
What Japan needs are feminists :3 !

We have those. They're just more interested in bitching for "women's only train carriages" and the like, than trying to get equality. They want their cake and to eat it, without having to pay for it first, basically.