Number of children in Japan shrinks to new record low

[Ohiogal]

The number of children in Japan has fallen for the 37th straight year in a row, a sign the country's attempts to offset the country's severely aging population are failing.

According to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in 2013, the last year for which data was available, foreigners made up only 1.3% of Japan's population, compared to 7% for the US ........

The lack of new workers is heightened by Japan's woeful levels of gender disparity, a recent OECD report warned. While the ratio of boys to girls is relatively in keeping with most industrialized countries, there is currently a 25% gender pay gap in Japan, the third-widest of all member states, and women are often discouraged from participating in the workforce by a variety of factors including lack of childcare, discrimination, and sexual harassment."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/number-of-children-in-japan-shrinks-to-new-record-low/ar-AAwShBi

[Calculating]

1. Their culture has a lot to do with it

Basically work comes before everything else, there's simply no time to date or raise kids.

[IluvPitties]

2. They need to open up more to different ideas and peoples.

[dalton99a]

3. Abandoned land in Japan will be the size of Austria by 2040

https://qz.com/1112368/abandoned-land-in-japan-will-be-the-size-of-austria-by-2040/
Abandoned land in Japan will be the size of Austria by 2040
Written by Isabella Steger
October 26, 2017

Unclaimed land and “ghost homes” can be found all over Japan, thanks to the country’s dwindling population.

A private research group headed by a former government minister today warned that the area (link in Japanese) of vacant land and homes could by 2040 be as big as Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido—about 83,000 sq km (32,000 sq miles), or the size of Austria. The area is currently about 41,000 sq km, slightly bigger than Japan’s southern island of Kyushu.

Many of Japan’s 8 million ghost homes—or akiya—are often left empty indefinitely. Once the owner of the land or the house dies, it’s difficult to track down the heir to the property to proceed with any action like tearing down the building. It also makes it impossible for local authorities to collect property taxes without knowing the identity of the landowner—some municipalities continue to levy taxes under the dead person’s name when the heir cannot be identified. Re-registering title deeds (paywall) is also bureaucratic and expensive. Land ownership issues have hindered the reconstruction of the Tohoku region, which was destroyed by the tsunami and earthquake in 2011, according to the Tokyo Foundation, a think tank.

Abandoned houses are also fire hazards, while untreated rubbish, overgrown vegetation, and deteriorating structures can pose health and safety risks.

[Uncle Joe]

4. No doubt this long term trend had great influence

on the Japanese mentality of creating robots to serve every need under the sun.

Thanks for the thread, Ohiogal.