[imagesource:flickr]

A Japanese government study released on Wednesday suggests that the depopulation of Japan is increasing despite that country’s best efforts to encourage new births.

The report goes as far as to suggest that the Japanese population will be a third less in 2070.

If accurate, it would pose major economic and social challenges to the world’s third-largest economy.

In numbers, it means almost 37 million fewer people in a population of 124 million b 2070. We can only imagine the impact this could have on the island nation.

As Japan’s birth rate continues a 7-year decline, those aged 65 and older will make up nearly 40 percent of Japanese society by 2070, and children will fall below 10 percent of the population.

The country is already feeling the ‘baby-pinch’ as its industries deal with the loss of production due to a shrinking workforce. Fewer births have also affected the social fabric of Japan, with the government actively trying to encourage young couples to have babies.

Schools are facing closures as fewer student enrollments mean some rural areas have to close down due to shrinking classrooms, and as a result, some students have had to move prefectures for education.

One of the most obvious signs of this problem is the number of abandoned homes across the country.

Known locally as Akiya, these homes are being offered to buyers at $45 (R850), and local authorities have come up with subsidies and other sweeteners to attract new residents to revitalize their dwindling communities.

The study also suggests that foreigners will make up an estimated 10% of the Japanese population by 2070. This is in line with projections by other groups as Japan looks to immigration as mitigation against a dwindling population.

It would be a shame if much of the incredibly rich culture of Japan disappears with their shrinking population. Maybe it’s time to consider Japan as an alternative to Mauritius for all the South Africans fleeing our shores.

[source:vice]