rewrite; Japanese and American views on adoption

This summer, I went to Minnesota as part of a homestay program. My host sister was an adopted child from Korea. I learned about adoption in my American classes. I was surprised to hear that American people think positively about adoption, and adoptions are extremely popular in America. This paper compares American people’s views on adoption with Japanese people’s views. 

 There are various kinds of adoption systems in Japan, such as Husband Adoption, which is the adopting of the husband into the wife's family, Stepchild Adoption, and the adoption of a child with unknown parents, or a child relative. This paper compares adopted child who have biologically parents.

In Japan, adoption is sometimes seen as a taboo. Japanese people treat it like it is shameful. Some parents don’t tell their children that they were adopted. There are many problems in Japan when parents tell their child they are adopted.

The percentage of the Japanese adoption system is as follows:

·         Husband Adoption has 67%.

·         Stepchild Adoption is 25%.

·         Child Relative Adoptios is 7%

·         Children with different biological parents are last with just 1%.

There are many reasons why child adoption in Japan is so low.  Firstly, many Japanese people don’t know in depth details regarding the Japanese adoption system. In other words, the lack of knowledge directly affects adoption numbers. A survery shows that 21% of Japanese people don’t understand how the adoption system works. Secondly, The Japanese government generally has a negative stance on adoption and rarely has Public Relations Campaigns about the subject. Also, the number of social worker and adoption organizations is predominantly smaller than in Europe and America. Thirdly, as mentioned before, because adoption is seen as a taboo in Japan it can sometimes result in discrimination. From the survey, you can see that the general Japanese person is hesitant to adopt due to how others may see them. Finally, the utilization rate of in-vitro fertilization and infertility treatment is much higher in America, but unfortunately, success rates are low. However, people in Japan who can’t have children usually abandon the idea, and never think of adoption as an alternative method. Some people think this is because of Japan’s tradition of seeing blood-relations as important.

Incidentally, the adoption numbers in Japan are gradually decreasing. In recent years, around 1000-1500 adoptions are carried out every year. In Japan, 90% of adoptive parents don’t have their own children, or suffer from infertility treatment. On the other hand, the number of children who are born from in-vitro fertilization is rising. Therefore, people who can’t have children themselves will usually depend on in-vitro fertilization instead of adoption.

I investigated adoption in America by getting my host family to answer a questionnaire. Overall, 9 people answered the questionnaire.

All 9 agreed with the idea of adoption. From this result, you can clearly see the difference between Americans and Japanese. There are numerous reasons why they agreed with adoption. For example, it’s a great alternative for families who cannot have children on their own, it’s a great way for families to connect with children and become their apart of their family, and it’s a wonderful way to create families and to provide loving homes for children. One person who agreed with the concept gives money to an adoption charity, which helps families pay for adoption.

Furthermore, Americans have several opinions on why adoption is a good thing. Many children need homes, and adoption has a positive effect on both the parents and the child. It is also a big business, with a lot of money involved, so it is closely regulated by the government.

Also, most people in America know someone who has or is adopted. In Japan, it’s rare to know these people. Some people have friends who have been adopted and relatives who have been adopted.

With regards to the question of whether adoption is good or bad, Americans also have several opinions. The main opinions are based on how well a child is matched with adoptive parents. A successful adoption is when adoptive parents adopt and welcome a new child as part of the family. This creates new families and gives the child a loving home. These are some opinions on why adoption is a good thing. On the other hand, there are opinions for adoption being a bad thing. Some aspects can be difficult for the child, who has to wait for a new family and then become attached to someone who isn’t your biological parent – it can be very lonely for them. It must also be very difficult for a mother to give up her child for adoption; it’s unfortunate that not all children can stay with the parents that gave birth to them. Therefore, 30% of people said adoption can be a bad thing. However, the majority of people think that adoption is good, and the people who said that adoption was bad also suggested parts of it were good..

Out of the 9 people who took the survey, one had adopted a child. However, she adopted a step-child. Also, my host family has an adopted child. My host parents started the adoption process when they were 42 years old in 2003, and their adopted child arrived when they were 43 years old in 2005. The child is now almost 8 years old and is a girl. My host parents are now 51 years old. They got married when they were 39 years old. My host mother had a child from her first marriage. They had always wanted to have at least two children and my host father wanted to be a dad to a little baby. However, they were unable to have biological children. Their adoptive child’s biological mother was a 19-year-old college student from Korea and the child’s biological father left the mother to join the Korean Army. Because of this, their baby was put up for adoption. My host parents have taught her that her biological mother loved her so much and that she decided to let Mommy and Daddy raise her and she would have a happier life. They love her very much, and they don’t think of her as their “Adopted Daughter”, so they don’t have a problem with adoption. This summer, my host parents are sent their adopted daughter to a Korean camp, so that she doesn’t forget her Korean heritage. Many Korean Americans or adopted children from Korea took part in the camp, and they learned the Korean language, Korean songs, dances, Tae Kwon Do etc. and on the last day, the parents came and watched their children perform what they had learnt. Afterwards, they ate Korean food. It is a great experience for adopted Korean children.

In America, by virtue of the diffusion of the opinion that it is “environment rather than heredity” and good quality milk powder, married couples who couldn’t have children started to accept an adopted children from the 1920s. In 1980, adoption was diversified because the adoption system increased due to the rise of liberalism and multiculturalism. Nowadays, the family concept in America is diversified.

Japanese people have a fixed idea that blood-relation is important, so adoption rates are decreasing. On the other hand, American people think positively towards adoption and the American government is actively promoting adoption. If the American views of adoption were explained to the Japanese people then maybe they would understand the importance of adoption. Also, if Japanese people thought more about the choices they have available to them, including adoption, then they would make their own lives a lot happier.(1293)