Is there reason to be pessimistic about Japans declining population?
Introduction The population of Japan is decreasing. A decreasing population means a decreasing workforce, and this is becoming a source of anxiety. But there is no reason to lament a decreasing population from an economic standpoint. If the workforce is declining, simply increase productivity; and there will be room for more people wanting to work, such as women, to get jobs. If the price to sustain the aged society gets too expensive, just decrease the cost. Japan’s pension benefits, the most generous among industrialized countries, would remain one of the highest even if it were to be lowered considerably. Japan could continue to thrive if a new system could be devised to cope with the decreasing population. The following discussion is intended to show that there is no reason to be pessimistic about Japan’s economy in the future because of the declining population. Decreasing population not necessarily bad A decreasing population means there will be less young people to support incre
