Australia and the World Past and Present

Japan is going through depopulation.

The birth rate stands at record lows.

Roughly 2 people are dying for every one that is born.

While a fertility rate of 2.1 is needed for population replacement, Japan’s birth rate stands at 1.2.

What that means is that over the next half century, Japan’s population is forecast to lose about 80 million people. That translates into around two-thirds of those alive today.

This will mean quieter trains and stations.

There will be less activity and less movement.

And it becomes more and more difficult for young people to pay to keep society going. They need to pay for their own needs, but they also need to pay for older generations who have retired, are not earning wages but still need to be looked after. There are fees for aged-care facilities. There are hospitals to maintain.

Already, a person of working age sees around half their income consumed by taxes.

How will young people buy a house? One consequence of depopulation is that there will be more houses available. There is already a large akibeya (empty house) phenomenon.

Who will help young adults out with childcare?

These are some of the economic and social issues that the country will need to grapple with.

Meanwhile, Japan’s foreign-born population continues to grow.

In 2024, there were around 3.8 million people living in Japan who were born overseas, according to the Immigration Services Agency.

Most were permanent residents.

The largest group were those born in China (23.2%).

That Chinese nationals make up such a large segment is not really surprising. China is geographically very close to Japan. Japan based its writing system on the Chinese system. In both countries Confucianism is strong. It is easy fro Chinese nationals to return to China for holidays.

There has been a large increase of Vietnamese living in Japan (16.8%).

There are also sizable communities from South Korea, the Philippines, Nepal, Brazil and Indonesia.

The number of babies born to “foreign parents” was at a record high in 2024. There were more than 20,000 babies which accounted for 3% of all births.

Groups with the highest birth rates were Chinese, Filipino and Brazilian.

There are shortages in the Japanese labor market and foreign nationals can help fill many of these vacancies.

According to the OECD International Migration Outlook, showing foreign-born as a percentage of the total population, Australia sat at 29.5%. This is higher than Canada with 22% and Sweden with 20.3%. The U.K. had 14.5% while Japan had 2.5%.

Many developed countries are experiencing depopulation. Traditionally, nations look to immigration to help bolster numbers. Japan has some challenges in this regard. While it has long had immigration pathways, immigration intakes have been smaller than many other OECD countries.

Japanese culture is rather unique. New arrivals often face a long period of adjustment. The language can be a major barrier, especially the written aspect of it. Becoming literate in a romance language tends to be straightforward by comparison.

Immigration will continue to be part of Japan’s demographics, but it is likely to remain lower than that experienced by many other OECD nations.