Photo/Illutration In Japanese tradition, carp streamers are displayed on Children’s Day to wish for the healthy growth of children. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

“Kappa” is an amphibious “yokai” (mythical creature) of Japanese folklore with a beak, webbed feet and a tortoise shell on its back.

Author Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927) states in “Kappa,” his 1927 novella: “Nothing is wackier than the birth of a kappa.”

The father kappa, sounding as if talking loudly to someone on the phone, tells his yet-to-be-born child in its mother’s belly: “Answer me--only after you’ve really thought this through--if you’ve decided to be born into this world.”

The story is replete with Akutagawa’s characteristic humor.

If the fetus replies it does not want to be born, the birth is canceled. In the kappa world, every would-be kappa child has the right to make their own decision.

What would happen if the same were true in the human world? Is our society something that makes every growing fetus shout with joy, “Yes, I want to be born”?

I must say I don’t know.

Childhood poverty affects one out of seven Japanese children. And the nation also has other kinds of bad news for kids, such as child abuse and bullying, not to mention a high suicide rate among the young.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged to deal innovatively with Japan’s declining birthrate, but his real aim is too transparent: He just wants to boost the national economy, not necessarily for the sake of the next generation.

If human fetuses could decide for themselves like their kappa counterparts, I wouldn’t be surprised if some felt quite hesitant about being born.

I recall Greta Thunberg’s 2019 United Nations rant about global warming.

“The young people are starting to understand your betrayal. ... We will never forgive you,” the then 16-year-old Swedish activist raged at the “adult” population. “We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!”

May 5 is “Kodomo no Hi” (Children’s Day) in Japan. Are we adults doing all we should be doing to ensure there will be smiles on the faces of children in the distant future? I am examining my conscience as the sun shines brightly on the young green leaves of May.

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 5

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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