Japan's birthrate is now at 1.29%, much lower than predicted. This will add to the pressures on the pension system we have discussed before...
Tokyo has the lowest birth rate in Japan - no surprises there.
For comparison purposes, this is from the BBC:
The birth rate in England and Wales has fallen to an all-time low, official figures show. The average number of children per woman is just 1.64 - the lowest since records began in 1924.
Megumi and I discussed this the other day, and came up with the very simple conclusion that the government here needs to offer incentives to Japanese couples to have babies! Money would be one major way to persuade people to procreate. Another would be to bring Japanese childcare into the 21st century, and either sponsor creches/childcare centers directly, or offer huge financial incentives for companies to offer chilcare services. Simplistic, perhaps, but after hearing Tanaka talking about starting a revolution and reforming Japan completely, it made me think that simple solutions to many problems may sometimes be best...
Posted by Gary at June 14, 2004 07:56 PMxenophobia - a P.C. way of saying racism, isn't it?
Posted by: Glenn at May 17, 2005 06:30 AM