Japan's Population Trends & Challenges PDF

CASE STUDY JAPAN NATURE OF THIER POPULATION TREND Japan’s population trends are characterized by a low birth rate, low death rate, and a rapidly aging population. The country has one of the world’s lowest fertility rates, well below the replacement level of 2....

CASE STUDY JAPAN NATURE OF THIER POPULATION TREND Japan’s population trends are characterized by a low birth rate, low death rate, and a rapidly aging population. The country has one of the world’s lowest fertility rates, well below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. Combined with a high life expectancy, this results in an increasingly elderly population, with nearly 30% of Japanese citizens aged 65 or older. ISSUES japans issue is having a high old age dependecy ratio. a large portion of thier population is either to young or to old to work. approx. 750,000 people are predicted to be over the age of 65 by 2040 CHALLENGES increased social spending: Japan’s social spending on nursing, medical care, and pensions has increased significantly to support its aging population. In 2022, healthcare spending reached about 11 trillion yen, with a large portion directed toward elderly care services, including nursing care. As the elderly population grows, the demand for these services has surged, and spending on long-term care is expected to rise by 4% annually. japans government spent nearly 16 trillion yen in 2022 on pensions for retired citizens. japans social spending is projected to continue to increase and to reach 60 trillion yen by 2040. decreasing government revenue: japan’s aging population and shrinking workforce contribute to a decline in government revenue. With fewer working-age individuals, income tax revenue has been decreasing, limiting the government's financial resources. In 2022, Japan’s tax revenue growth slowed, with an estimated 67.3 trillion yen, a modest increase compared to the rapid growth seen in the previous years. Additionally, as pension and healthcare costs rise due to the growing elderly population, government spending has been forced to increase, leading to a budget deficit. Japan's debt-to-GDP ratio is among the highest in the world, reaching around 263% in 2023, putting further pressure on the government to balance spending and revenue. RESPONSES the plus one proposal (2009): this plan aims to create family friendly working conditions and change Japanese ‘workaholic’ culture. this response is an attempt to remove the choice women traditionally needed to make between having a career or children. they also aimed to increase the proportion of women with children in the workforce from 38% to 55% by 2019 and increase the portion of 60-64 year olds who work from 53% to 60%. and increase thier total fertility rate. effectiveness: the plus one proposal had limited success. labour force participation by women in japan is still lower than the OECD average but has increased from 50% of the total popualtion aged 15+ to 53% in 2019 to 55% in 2023. abenomics (2014): aimed to improve economic growth by increasing the size and population in the work force. this increases the working age population by creating 400,000 childcare places by 2018 and encourage women to occupy at least 30% of managerial positions in the public and private sector. effectiveness: abenomics saw employment rates of women aged 25-44 increase to approx. 68% in 2012 to 77% in 2018. however, less than 400,000 childcare places had not been created and women did not occupy at least 30% of managerial positions SPATIAL TECHNOLOGY japans government use the census data, combined with satelite imagery to produce GIS maps of ageing population change. this help to identify population issues. it defines sreas of ageing populations and population decline. this data is then used to target planning of aged care facilities and infrastructure. GIS data has helped plan new healthcare centers in regions projected to have a 40% elderly population by 2030