The latest forecasts for the decline in Japan’s population are likely to bring forward the debate on immigration, despite the…
TOKYO —
The latest forecasts for the decline in Japan’s population are likely to bring forward the debate on immigration, despite the government’s refusal to use the word “immigration” to describe its policies.
The country’s population is expected to shrink to 88.08 million by 2065, down roughly 30 percent from its 2015 level, according to a government estimate released Monday.
Although that is a slower pace of decline than the last estimate in 2012, the figures indicate a dark outlook for the government’s goal of keeping the population at 100 million in 2064.
Far from displaying alarm, the office of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has interpreted the data in a way that plays up the achievements of government policies, which focus on encouraging Japanese people to have more children while allowing “foreign workers” to work in a limited range of fields.
A source close to the welfare ministry research body responsible for the latest estimate said the prime minister’s office put pressure on researchers to present the figures in a way that indicated some sort of improvement.
Japan’s business world, meanwhile, is looking at employing foreign nationals as a way to make up for an anticipated labor shortage, meaning debate on immigration will likely end up on the government’s doorstep whether or not it is politically convenient.
“The birthrate problem won’ t be fixed by force of will alone, ” warns a Tokyo mother of three who has started an online movement to draw attention to the difficulty of raising children in Japan.
The hashtag that Tae Amano, 42, started on Twitter this year—translating to “I want to get into day care”—has struck a chord with parents nationwide whose plans are on hold as they struggle to find their young children places in child care facilities.
“If you have a child, the economic burden from school fees and other costs grows, and for women there is the risk that their careers will be cut off, ” Amano said. “We need to change this climate in which giving birth means you lose out.
