On 30th January 2006, around 30 specialists in population, reproductive health, economics, and medicine, as well as members of the mass media attended a regular study meeting of the Council on Population, presided over by Yasushi Akashi.

It was the second time for Dr. Toshio Kuroda, President, JOICFP, to make a presentation on "Survival strategies for human beings in the 21st Century."

Dr. Kuroda said that Japan had just reached a new milestone in 2005 with the lowest-low fertility, an aging population, and population decline simultaneously.

Historically, he said, the total fertility rate fell by half in Japan from 1947 to 1957 to once reach under-replacement levels. This was actually the beginning of the population decline, he stated.

In 1969, the Council on Population Problems issued a report highlighting concerns over falling fertility and aging, and issuing recommendations for countermeasures. Dr. Kuroda explained that nothing had been done and a good opportunity to take action had been missed.

By the 1990s, he said, many ministries were implementing programs to tackle the situation, but with little effect. In fact, he stressed, there have been no comprehensive population policies or strategies in Japan since 1957, nearly half a century

Solutions

As one possible solution, Dr. Kuroda offered a revision of traditional age groupings to ones that more accurately reflect present day society.

0 - 14 becomes 0 - 19 as most 19-year-olds are in college.

15 - 64 becomes 20 - 75, since many people over 65 would like to work given the opportunity

65 and over becomes 75 and over.

This would greatly decrease the dependency ratios for the country.

Dr. Kuroda also suggested that the retirement age be abolished and that "healthy aging" in fact meant an increase in the labor force.

He proposed that more women be encouraged into the workforce and that job-sharing for them would allow a balance between house and work.

Dr. Kuroda noted that immigration was a policy adopted in, for example, Europe, and that Japan should study this closely to see what lessons could be learned from it.

Another factor he mentioned was creating more opportunities for young people to meet and have a balance between work and free time. Living near work would assist this, he said. The present system of long commutes and long hours in the office was fatiguing for both people and the system itself.

New vision

Present society was based on continual economic growth, and successes in the past did not translate into successes in the future.

Dr. Kuroda called for a revolution in thinking, especially among managers and the government, to ensure the future of Japanese society.