Today is a rather peculiar public holiday in Japan: ‘Respect Old People Day’.
And judging by the official demographics, an increasing proportion of the population should be revered today.
One in eight Japanese is aged 75 or older. People over 65 will reach 33 million, the largest ever, roughly 25.9% of the population.
The thing about demographic trends is that they’re like a huge oil tanker – once they’re on their course it’s very hard to steer them around in another direction.
These are monumental, generational changes that are very hard and slow to reverse.
By today’s trend, Japan’s population will dwindle from 127 million today to around 100 million by 2050. It’s the worst possible demographic nightmare.
People stopped having as many babies decades ago. It was too damned expensive.
Then the big collapse came in the late 80s, and the economy has been dragging it heels ever since.
When prosperity is low, people consequently delay having children. They have fewer children. Or they don’t have them at all.
This post was published at Sovereign Man on September 15, 2014.
Follow on Twitter
Recent Comments