What's new

Japan’s population slide set to accelerate

tarokono.jpg
Japan's Minister for Administrative Reform Taro Kono

TOKYO — Japan should craft an “integrated” immigration policy to cope with its shrinking population, or risk losing out to an aging China in competition for vital foreign workers, the cabinet minister for administrative reform said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made raising Japan’s rock-bottom birth rate a priority and wants to focus on drawing more women and elderly into the workforce to fill gaps rather than on immigration, a contentious topic in a society where many pride themselves on cultural and ethnic homogeneity.

Forecasts based on current trends expect the population to fall below 100 million in 2048 and to about 87 million by 2060, when 40% of people will be 65 or older. Abe wants to hold the line at 100 million by 2060, a fifth below current levels.

“Even if you magically increased the birth rate by tomorrow, still it would take these babies 20 years to grow, so we really need to do something about the labor market,” Taro Kono, appointed in October, told Reuters in an interview.

“People talk about getting more women (and) ... more senior people to stay in the labor market. We obviously have to do both, and that still will not be enough,” added Kono, known before joining the cabinet as an outspoken critic of some government policies.

Kono said given “psychological barriers” to immigration among the Japanese public, the policy debate would take time.

But unless Japan begins to tackle the issue, it will lose out to China, itself facing an aging, shrinking population.

The World Bank said in a report this week that East Asia was aging faster than any other region.

“Are we competitive enough to pull good foreign workers to this country? I have some doubt about it,” the U.S.-educated Kono, 52, said in fluent English.

“Think about China. They will soon start getting old and need a lot of care workers and they will start sucking in all the foreign workers, and then it’s going to be fierce competition.”


Kono said that the government was taking some steps to open up to foreign workers in sectors such as construction, nursing and domestic help, but an overall policy was needed.

“We probably need some kind of integrated policy in the future. That’s what I call immigration policy or foreign workers policy - integrated, not just piece by piece,” he said.

Japan needs immigrants to boost population: minister ‹ Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion
 
until Japan is rid of its xenophobia, they cannot attract immigrants other than economic migrants from significantly poorer countries. The US attracts immigrants from even Western Europe not just due to economics but due to its ideology. China should learn from US immigration policy and not just attract economic migrants but also ideological migrants who are willing to give up their old culture to become Chinese, just like many westerners or even Asians give up their own culture to become Americans. How many German Americans can even speak one sentence of German, after all?
 
until Japan is rid of its xenophobia, they cannot attract immigrants other than economic migrants from significantly poorer countries. The US attracts immigrants from even Western Europe not just due to economics but due to its ideology. China should learn from US immigration policy and not just attract economic migrants but also ideological migrants who are willing to give up their old culture to become Chinese, just like many westerners or even Asians give up their own culture to become Americans. How many German Americans can even speak one sentence of German, after all?

Goo thinking, but lets be realistic, China is different from the U.S/West it simply cant do that for obvious reasons you all know too well. It will never happen in China.Period.
 
Goo thinking, but lets be realistic, China is different from the U.S/West it simply cant do that for obvious reasons you all know too well. It will never happen in China.Period.

don't get the west confused with the US. Europe also attracts mostly economic migrants.
 
until Japan is rid of its xenophobia, they cannot attract immigrants other than economic migrants from significantly poorer countries. The US attracts immigrants from even Western Europe not just due to economics but due to its ideology. China should learn from US immigration policy and not just attract economic migrants but also ideological migrants who are willing to give up their old culture to become Chinese, just like many westerners or even Asians give up their own culture to become Americans. How many German Americans can even speak one sentence of German, after all?

China doesn't need foreigners, except the exceptionally rare few who are not only talented would actually be loyal to the country and to Chinese civilization. There are at most a few dozen such people in the West.
 
Back
Top Bottom