A Japanese professor has predicted the year Japan will become extinct if the country doesn’t grapple with its rapidly ageing population.
The year is 2720 and away from science-fiction fantasies of flying cars, robots and intergalactic travel to far-away stars one Tokyo visionary has made a damning projection.
Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor at Tohoku University’s Research Centre for Aged Economy and Society, claims that after centuries of population decline Japan will be left with just one child under the age of 14 by 2720.
Mr Yoshida has conducted demographic simulations since 2012 and his latest finding is that, according to his current projection, his home will probably cease to exist 695 years from now, according to The Times.
Incredible data, released by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, prompted Mr Yoshida to bring his estimate forward by 100 years after it revealed a steep decline of 2.3 per cent in the number of children.
The number of births in Japan has steadily decreased since the 1970s until in 2005 the number of deaths surpassed births.
In 2022 there were nearly one million more deaths than births in Japan and the percentage of people over 65 now stands at 29.9 per cent of the population – that is an increase of 24.1 per cent since 1960.
Mr Yoshida told Japanese media the country’s long-term slump means that young people cannot get married or have children due to low earnings.
He said: ‘Unless the decline in the number of births stops, the hand of the “clock” will go back.
‘Japan may become the first country to become extinct due to a low birthrate. We should create an environment where women and the elderly can work, and aim for a society where everyone is actively involved.’
Japanese politicians have been trying to find answers to the country’s demographic problem with some policymakers warning it only has until 2030 to reverse the trend.
The problems that arise from having more old people to care for but fewer younger people in the workforce pose a greater threat to Japan than extinction.
To tackle this Newsweek said that Japan is planning to relax its tough immigration policies to allow more foreign workers to enter the country.
The government hopes to triple the number of workers from abroad by 2040.
It is even planning to hand out more cash incentives with 5.3 trillion yen (or £27 billion) dedicated to helping couples start families.
Officials believe that couples may be more inclined to have children if they see more money in their pockets.
The Japanese people are extremely happy and extremely well-mannered. Of course, they have no foreign religion to contend with.
A lot can happen in a century, and I’m sure that the people of Japan will have sorted it out by then. At the moment they might have a population problem and it is extremely distressing for them, but not as disturbing as the issues we have here in the UK. Too many people and the population is increasing at an unsettling pace.
Visit Japan and you will probably discover that it is still Japan. The people are still Japanese and they are enjoying Japanese culture. Visit Britain and you will find much of it unrecognisable, and that its people are being replaced, and there is disquiet stemming from mutually conflicting cultural expectations. One could easily be excused for thinking that it’s the British and not the Japanese who are facing looming extinction.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 