news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4552010.stm
Printable version Japan population starts to shrink A girl walks among the colourful Iceland poppy fields at Showa Kinen park in western Tokyo, 05 May 2005. Many Japanese women see motherhood as a burden Japan's population is set to drop this year for the first time since reco rds began more than a century ago, according to a government report. Deaths are expected to exceed births by 10,000, and inward migration will not make up the difference. The drop, which has been predicted for years, was blamed on a falling bir th rate and a rise in flu-related deaths. The government has acknowledged a shrinking population could jeopardise J apan's long-term economic health. "Our country is now standing at a major turning point in terms of populat ion," Health, Labour and Welfare Minister Jiro Kawasaki told a news conf erence. "We must take counter-measures against the falling birth rate along with measures to support and foster our future generations," he said. The latest data showed the number of births - falling since the 1970s - w as expected to fall by 44,000 to 1,067,000 in 2005. The number of deaths rose 48,000 to 1,077,000 as Japan's ageing populatio n fell prone to illnesses like flu. Japan's population research institute said that even when foreign migrant s were taken into account, the country's population would still fall by 4,000 in 2005. Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said a government panel was due to rec ommend appropriate policies to this end next June. "We consider measures against the declining birth rate as very important, " he said. "We have expanded child-support allowances in the recent budg et, and we hope to further expand other benefits to counter the declinin g birth rate." Japanese women have cited inadequate child care, low part-time wages and long hours worked by their husbands as some of the reasons why they do n ot have any children, or only have one. Japan's population of 128 million is projected to fall to 100 million by 2050 if current trends continue.
|
http://csua.com/feed/