This is the second part of a three part series. Read part 1 here. or skip ahead to part 3 here.
The first problem with Japan’s shrinking and aging population is the actual structure of the population. At the end of World War II, Japan (like the much of the rest of the world) experienced a baby boom. This meant that during the miracle years of the late 1950s and early 1960s many, many children were born. However, as I mentioned in the first part of this article, the fertility rate began to fall, permanently falling below replacement level in 1975.
In the short term, this posed no problem for Japan’s economy. Those born during the miracle years entered the workforce during the 1970s and the bubble years of the 1980s. Thus, most of the Japanese baby boomers began working when things like lifetime employment actually meant something in Japan. Those who lost their jobs or failed to find jobs during the “lost decade” (really two now) were the younger workers born at the end of 1960s and into the 1970s.
At the time, this was viewed as a temporary measure; younger workers would enjoy lifetime employment once the economy picked back up again. But on the whole, this has not happened and during this time, the baby boomers have gotten older and older and closer and closer to retirement. Read the rest of this entry »
If I were to ask you what is the single biggest problem facing Japan today, what would you say? If you answered the current economic meltdown, Japan’s ballooning public debt, the rise of China or the threat from North Korea, you are way off. While, these are certainly extremely important issues and concerns for Japan, they pale in comparison to the real crisis it is now facing: that of demography.
Now this may seem like an hyperbole to you at first, but I am going to show you why Japan’s demographic structure – and specifically its aging and shrinking population – is by far the most important issue it now faces. I will demonstrate this by looking at a number of different issues including public debt, economic growth and international reputation. Finally, I will examine what, if anything, can be done about the current situation.
However, before I continue I think it would be useful to look at a few numbers to get an idea of the magnitude of the problem. According to the Japanese government’s statistics bureau, Japan’s population peaked in 2006 with 127,771,000 people. Since that time it has shrunk, with the UN estimating that by the end of next year Japan’s population will have fallen to just under 127 million people. This represents a loss of over 700,000 people in just 4 years. Read the rest of this entry »
This Sunday I am going to be running a half-marathon here in Ottawa which I have been training for since the start of the year. It is going to be a huge event, with about 10,000 runners expected to compete. But, I bet there is not going to be anything like this at the finish line:
This video was taken at the finish line of the 2007 Tokyo Marathon. I really like Taiko drumming and I think it would be an amazing way to end any race. If I ever do another full marathon it will be this one.
I just came across this really cool video of the growth of of Shinjuku from July 1969 to July 2004. My apologies if you have seen it posted elsewhere before. It’s crazy how much it changed in just a few decades.
For those of you who don’t know, Shinjuku is one of the 23 wards in Tokyo. It is home to the busiest train station (Shinjuku Station) in the world by daily commuter traffic; used by over 3.6 million people per day. It also home to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building which houses the Tokyo city government. More importantly (at least for tourists) you can go up the both Towers free of charge for great panoramic views of Tokyo.
When I was teaching English in Japan a co-worker and I drank a lot of Asahi beer to try and win one of these robots. Needless to say we didn’t win, but I am glad somebody did. Looks like it would not have been too practical anyway. Who wants to wait 3 minutes for a beer?
What do you think of the Asahi beer pouring robot? Leave your comments below:
