Negative demographics have upside

Article Excerpt

Japan has a less-than-favorable demographic profile: the population is shrinking as the death rate exceeds the birth rate, and the average age of the population is rising due to longer life expectancy. The median age of the Japanese population is now 47.7, the second highest in the world. The portion of the population older than 64 years accounts for 28.4%, the highest in the world, except for tiny Monaco. In addition, the portion of the population under 25 is also small compared to most other nations. This implies that there will fewer people of working age to support an expanding number of elderly citizens. The IMF calculates that the impact of aging could potentially drag down Japan’s average annual GDP growth by 1% over the next three decades. The government will have to address this structural challenge to increase its economic growth potential for future years. There are several options such as cutting the retirement age, and relaxing immigration restrictions. None of these…