Editing Freeter (section)

==Effects==

===Difficulties starting their own household===
Many freeters live for free with their parents as what is described by some media outlets as [[parasite singles]]. Parents in Japan usually do not force their offspring out of the house. Once the parents die, the children will have to pay for their housing themselves. Even if they inherit the house or apartment, they still have to bear the costs of ownership.

[[Housing in Japan|Japanese housing]] is compact, and is too small for two families. If freeters want to marry, then they have to find their own housing, usually at their own expense.

Women have fewer financial incentives to marry (such as salary increases) than men do, and women are traditionally seen as the caregivers of older family members, which is becoming increasingly difficult due to the growing number of senior citizens.<ref name=":22"/><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Kelly|first1=William W.|url=https://www.degruyter.com/cornellup/view/book/9781501731112/10.7591/9781501731112-004.xml|title=3. Students, Slackers, Singles, Seniors, and Strangers: Transforming a Family-Nation|last2=White|first2=Merry I.|date=2019-12-31|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-1-5017-3111-2|language=en|doi=10.7591/9781501731112-004|s2cid=198879445}}</ref> If women marry, then the burden gets doubled with them having to take care of their parents, spouse's parents, husband, and potential children. These issues, along with wanting to work for money and not marrying may lead to stigmas of being not only parasite singles but also "unfeminine".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tokuhiro|first=Yoko|url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780203871188|title=Marriage in Contemporary Japan|date=2009-09-25|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-203-87118-8|language=en|doi=10.4324/9780203871188}}</ref>

Work and marriage are seen as the two main identifiers for adulthood and are the normative ideals of masculinity.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Cook|first=E. E.|date=2013-01-01|title=Expectations of Failure: Maturity and Masculinity for Freeters in Contemporary Japan|journal=Social Science Japan Journal|language=en|volume=16|issue=1|pages=29–43|doi=10.1093/ssjj/jys022|issn=1369-1465|doi-access=free|hdl=10.1093/ssjj/jys022|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Men deal with comparisons to the [[salaryman]], also known as a "corporate warrior", the idolized ideal job for men during economic growth from the 1960s associated with Japan's rebuilding of its nation and economy after WWII.<ref name=":05"/> The dominant masculine hegemonic discourse of the 1960s and after of the ideal man being self-sacrificing for work and the bread winner of the family has created a stigma where male freeters are seen less masculine and have a harder time with relationships, marriage, and eventually finding full-time work. Many men have seen their fathers in salaryman positions and do not want to fulfill that role because they want to spend more time with family and focus on hobbies.

===Difficulties starting a career===
Starting a career becomes more difficult the longer somebody is a freeter, as Japanese companies prefer to hire new workers fresh out of high school or university. While the employment situation is changing, large traditional companies still see a new employee as a lifetime investment.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} They much prefer to hire a young person who offers a longer period of service, and who will be easier to mold.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

Often the only option left for freeters is to continue working at low income part-time jobs, making it difficult to establish their own household. Some join the many [[Homelessness in Japan|homeless]] in Japan.

===Health and pension insurance===
Part-time jobs usually do not include any health or retirement benefits. Freeters' low income makes payment of [[medical expenses]] onerous.

The biggest problem for freeters is that the Japanese pension system is based on the number of years a person has paid into the system. The freeter usually has little or no pension insurance or savings, which may force him or her to work beyond the usual retirement age.

Japan faces the problem of an aging population. The pension system will be under increasing strain as the ratio of pensioners to workers increases.

===Freedom of choice===
The advantage of being a freeter is that one has more freedom of choice, and more time for hobbies, volunteering, and community service. If they are living with their parents, they can spend their entire income on themselves.

===Effect on Japanese society===
[[File:Japan Population by Age 1920-2010 with Projection to 2060.png|thumb|right|350px|Japan's population from 1920 to 2010, with population projections out to 2060]]
Freeters lack the benefits of union membership, which would give them some legal protection against firing.

While they are young, freeters commonly live with their parents and have [[disposable income]] that would otherwise go towards rent. Their spending helps the manufacturing sector of the [[Economy of Japan|Japanese economy]].

By living in the same house as their parents and often not owning a car, freeters have a much lower impact on the natural environment than "high consumption" members of society owning cars.

Large numbers of workers trying to start careers in their thirties may have a significant impact on the current corporate culture of Japan. It may change hiring and employment practices, particularly since demographers predict a future labor shortage due to the [[aging of Japan|Japan's aging population]].

Many male freeters have difficulties [[marriage in Japan|marrying]] because of their low [[income]]. They may thus have children later in life, or not at all. This will further aggravate the low birth rate in Japan and compound social and economic problems related to the aging population, such as underfunding of the [[National Pension (Japan)|Japanese pension system]]. As of today, freeters pay little or no money into the pension system.

The [[Japanese government]] has established a number of offices called ''[[Young Support Plaza]]'' to help young people find jobs. These offices offer basic training for job hunting: teaching young people how to write a [[résumé]], and how to conduct themselves during [[job interview|interviews]]. The demand for their services has been fairly low so far.{{cn|date=July 2021}}