Over the last week, Japan has declared a state of emergency under the impact of a nationwide population decline. "Last year less than 800,000 babies were born, resulting in a rapid decline that experts hadn’t predicted until 2030." In 1970's , Japan would see approx 2.1 million births per year. The fertility rate, which indicates the number of children a women will have during her lifetime, fell for the sixth consecutive year to 1.30 in 2021.
On the other end of the spectrum, Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. 1 in every 1,500 people in Japan are over the age of 100 years old. This has led to talks among politicians to increase the retirement age to 68 years old. As well as having seniors re-join the labor force on a part-time basis.
Japan's plan to combat population decline focuses on government spending. In order to boost the birth rate the government plans to roll out a countermeasure plan which includes: more financial assistance to help with child rearing, preschool education, nursing care services, and workplace reforms. "A financial support package valued at 100,000 yen is also being devised to help cover the cost of postnatal necessities such as strollers, diapers, and infant formula."
Population decline on such a small island that is already over its natural carrying capacity creates a strong head wind that Japan will try to overcome. A major cultural shift will have to take place in order to save the future of Japan's economy and future growth as a nation. Otherwise, they will face implicit consequences to their labor force and ability to maintain a balance between supply and demand for labor.
source:
https://thediplomat.com/2023/01/japans-population-crisis-nears-point-of-no-return/
This is really interesting to me. Its crazy how the government has to step in and regulate something like population. I am curious what the financial and economic effects will be with all these new people entering.
ReplyDeleteIt is fascinating to consider that our life expectancies have an impact on our economy and not just our personal lives. Other than the fertility rate, I'd be curious to know why these rates fell quicker than expected. What is the real reason behind this change that is in turn impacting their economy.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to see after having high numbers in the fertility rate (2.1 million births a year) that it dropped to less than 800,000. Now the result of this is that they have to raise the retirement age and bring elders back into the working force. Japan and China both came out of the Covid-19 Pandemic poorly. When your economy doesn't have enough youth to get the economy rolling again it is hard to jump back after a pandemic like this.
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