Japans inevitable demise?

Here’s a controversial post, but not deliberately so.

Once an economic powerhouse, could Japan become a footnote in history?

Its population of 127 million is shrinking by a million a year, and by 2050 will be down to 90 million - an unheard-of decline for a rich country in peacetime. Many Japanese are delighted: crammed on to their small island, they think more space will give them a better quality of life. They are living in a fool’s paradise: there won’t be nearly enough people in work to pay for their retirement, and within two decades the economy will face collapse.

The only way Japan will survive is by facing up to its “taboos”.

One is feminism, which this patriarchal society has steadfastly refused to embrace. Although women can and do work, no allowance is made for their family commitments. As a result, the national childbearing average is 1.3, well below the level needed to keep the population stable.

Another no-no is immigration: at present only two million foreigners live in Japan, mostly South Koreans and a few Chinese. Perhaps the Japanese would rather use robots to do unskilled jobs than accommodate people from different cultures?

They now face a difficult choice: to change the way they think, or slide into penury and obscurity.