The Economic Impact of Population Decline and Aging in Japan, 1st ed. 2024 The Post-Demographic Transition Phase Population Studies of Japan Series

Despite the remarkably serious problems caused by aging and population decline in Japan, there are very few books that inform the world about them in English. Through this book, a Japanese economic demographer clearly shows the various economic consequences of population problems in Japan, especially the impacts of continuing ultra-low fertility and the world?s highest life expectancy in the post-demographic transition phase. The explanation is at a basic level but covers the overall economic issues including labor, capital, technical progress, consumption, savings and investment from a demographic perspective. Finally, some remedies for economic growth in Japan are proposed. Because economic policies are expected to have short-term effects while demographic ones to increase the fertility rate need some time to take effect, earlier books about the Japanese economy have hardly ever dealt with demographic policies. Furthermore, this book directly addresses the integrated economic and demographic policies appropriate to Japan. These are different from the French natalistic social policy, the Scandinavian policy of a work?life balance or the immigration policy in Australia or the United States. This book emphasizes the power of local communities in Japan as a part of East Asia. In this sense, the book provides a new key to readers who are interested in the future Japanese economy and population.

1 Post-demographic transition 1.1  Ultra low fertility: Population have always had no ability to reproduce itself  1.2  Rise in life expectancy: To manage the risk of long life in super-aging society  1.3  Ageing and Population decline: The double wallop of the world’s fastest ageing and the first population dive in Japanese history.-  2 Impact to the supply side 2.1  Labor: The absolute shortage of domestic labor and the large inflows of immigrants 2.2  Capital: Will the national wealth of Japan shrink, too?  2.3  Technical progress: Expected to be the most powerful engine of economic growth.- 3 Impact to the demand side 3.1  Consumption : The fact is that older consumer demand is fairly strong 3.2  Savings: After all, which is true, the life cycle hypothesis or the dynasty model? 3.3  Investment: it depends on the young entrepreneurial business mind.- 4  Remedy for Japan 4.1  Population policy : The power of Asian local communities should raise the fertility in the long term 4.2  Economic policy : The design of universally worker-friendly workplace, the improvement in older consumer confidence and the fosterage of new industries appropriate to small population and small national land 4.3  Prospects for economic and population growth : Japan has the potential to grow unless policies are mistaken.