Final Approach

In Final Approach, the issue concerns an experimental government initiative to counter Japan's decreasing birthrates at the time. The main decision (which is supposed to have been made without the representation and permission of the Japanese residents) was to organize a nationwide initiative in which young people of different sexes are to be linked together for marriage and therefore for parenthood. If young couples started having children during a young relationship, this would, in principle and in today's reality, result in an incredible net increase in childbearing. The social and emotional aspects of the "subjects" in the project are easily believed to be tenacious in protecting the traditional marriage arrangement, despite the substantial economic and political rewards. As a result, the Japanese government chose to test the idea with a single pair at a time.