FAQ

Why are antinatalists also vegans?

The ethical view called 'antinatalism' is often seen as something to be applied only to humans for no particular reason.

However, the reason antinatalism is applied to humans in the first place is the painience (capacity of experiencing pain) that human beings possess.

When someone deserves moral consideration, that is because of the painience they have, which means painient beings other than humans also should not be created.

Therefore, if you support antinatalism, you also need to do what you can to avoid paying for painient beings to be forcefully brought into existence and live extremely painful lives.

Otherwise, you would be logically inconsistent.

Practice of veganism is, essentially, non-speciesist practice of antinatalism, and that is what antinatalism should always be.

What is speciesism?

Speciesism is prejudgice held by someone who refuses to give something moral consideration it deserves despite its painience, only because it belongs to a certain species.

In many cases, the humankind's mistreatment of non-human animals is seen as speciesist, but it is also speciesist for vegans to procreate.

Why is it speciesist for vegans to procreate?

Vegans try to protect non-human painient beings by refusing to financially support animal agriculture, which intentionally breeds them and makes them suffer.

If they procreate, they are doing something they would never want to do to non-human animals to humans, which is a discriminatory act based on differences in species.

Aren't we vegans the ones who should procreate, to help increace percentage of vegans in population?

Thoughts cannot be genetically passed on, just as pro-natalism has failed to be genetically passed onto antinatalists from their (supposedly) pro-natalist parents.

Furthermore, it does not seem to be a morally justifiable thing to create someone without their consent, and force them to play a certain role.

Increacing the percentage of vegans in the human population is certainly something we need to achieve, but there are contless ways we should try first before such a cruel means as procreation.

What does Antinatalism Japan exist for?

Our goal is to make antinatalism a mainstream ethical position and prevent painient (capable of experiencing pain) beings from being forced into existence.

What's good about joining you?

Some benefits of joining ANJ include (1) reduction of the cost to be an antinatalist activist compared to doing it on your own, and (2) gaining access to a platform where you can meet and interact with like-minded people.

Let's suppose you get to support antinatalism, and want to advocate for it through street outreach as well as practicing it yourself.

Starting street outreach usually takes time and financial cost for designing, printing, assembling and safekeeping of outreach signs.

Joining us will allow you to take your first step as an activist without spending your resources for such things.

Do I have to pay membership fee?

There is no membership fee to be paid.

Any financial cost of running ANJ is covered only with donations from within and outside the organization.

If you are financially comfortable, you are of course very welcome to donate to us!

LEARN MORE ABOUT DONATION TO ANJ

I identify as a 'hanshusshou-shugisha,' not 'museishoku-shugisha.' Can I join you?

You are very much welcome to join us.

We use the term 'museishoku-shugi' as the name for what 'antinatalism' should really be (refer to 'Why Museishoku-shugi?' here).

If you are worried about any potential misalignment between museishoku-shugi and your antinatalism, we recommend you to join us as an associate member first.

LEARN MORE ABOUT JOINING US

What religious/political groups are behind ANJ?

ANJ was co-founded by 2 individuals, Yuichi Furuno and Asagi Hozumi, and has no connection whatsoever with any religious or political groups.

Antinatalism is en ethical position and goes against the teachings of many religions.

Why should we not create human beings?

That is because human beings are considered to be painient (capable of experiencing pain).

Creating a supposedly painient being means someone on the side of creating decides, without the permission of the created one, that it is acceptable that the created being will experience pain.

Those who we create cannot give us their consent to being created.

Isn't it a personal choice whether or not to procreate?

For an action to be unquestionably a 'personal choice' (i.e. always morally justifiable), there needs to be no one who could be negatively affected by the action.

The act of procreation has a hugely negative impact on the one brought into existence, by creating the most fundamental reason for every single bad thing that happens to them, which is the very existence of that person.

Isn't it impossible to get the consent from someone yet to be born?

Whether you can get the consent of someone who would be impacted by your action doesn't have anything to do with whether you need to ask for the consent or not.

If the impossibility to get the consent means the absence of the need to get it, then it's morally justifiable to have sex with someone who is too drunk to say yes or no... which, obviously, is not true.

I'm glad I was born. Isn't it okay to give my child the same gift?

You are not your child, or any of your offsprings.

They are separate individuals, and won't necessarily go through similar life experiences to yours.

Even if they do, it varies from person to person how much pain/pleasure those experiences cause to them.

However positively you rate the quality of your own life, it simply doesn't work as an argument to deny the danger of procreation.

Isn't it natural for us to procreate, as we are just another species of animals?

It is indeed a natural thing for us to listen to our instincts and procreate.

However, if 'natural' meant 'morally justifiable,' then it would also have to be morally justifiable to do what is considered to be unethical, such as comitting a murder or assaulting someone.

Clearly, 'natural' and 'morally justifiable' are not equal.