Japan: History, Population, and Facts - Case Study Example

Aged’ Japan Introduction Japan, a country that played a major role in the outrage of the World War II and a currently strong agent of the global technological economy, now holds the title of being the most rapidly aging civilization in the world. For the common people, this situation does not pose much of a conflict so as to gather enormous attention. Unfortunately, Japan’s rapidly aging population is more than just a fact about its population aging at an unexpectedly fast rate. It affects many aspects of the lives of its citizens, their choices and their future. In the same way, the whole world—especially those who have developed a strong relationship with and dependence on Japan in one way or another—will also feel the consequences of the great economic and social challenge that Japan is now facing. Knowing Japan Japan’s Geographical Location. Unlike the giant China which is located in the large mass that forms the continent of Asia, Japan is an island country separated from mainland Asia. It has an archipelagic location and is surrounded by the “Sea of Japan and the western Pacific Ocean” (“Japanese Archipelago,” 2008). According to Duiker & Spielvogel (2006), it is made up of four main islands and thousands more of smaller ones. These larger islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyusu and Shikoku. It is relatively small, with an approximate size like that of United States’ Montana (p. 239), and about “1/48 the size of Russia and 1/25 the size of China in land area” (Yamada, 2001; Kurashige, 2003). In numbers, its total land area is 145,883 square miles including land and water (WorldAtlas.com, n.d). The country is further made up of mountainous terrains and forests, which gives the people only a little space for agriculture and living (Asia for Educators, n.d.). Lying behind most of its mountains are volcanoes that compose 10 percent of the world’s most active ones that are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire; Mt. Fuji—notably dormant—is the most popular and also the highest peak in the country (Kirk, 1966, pp. 26-28). Japan also lies exactly on the juncture of the “Pacific-Philippine-Eurasian triple tectonic plates” which mainly answers why Japan experiences earthquakes every so often that it records an average of 1,500 minor shocks per year (Encyclopedia of the Nations, n.d.). Japan’ Climate. Japan has got the four seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall. In Deal’s (2006) book, however, it was emphasized that the country’s climate patterns is continuously changing as an effect of its East Asian monsoon zone location (p. 58). The island of Hokkaido experiences both the drier and cooler weather conditions compared to Honshu, Kyusu and Shikoku. Deal (2006) also specified that Japan undergoes heavy snowfall, warm and dry to humid conditions ended with stormy, rainy, and cooler season during winter, summer, spring and fall respectively. The Japanese People. The Japanese nationals are called Nihonjin (Delanty & Kumar, 2006, p. 474). Shinto was their state religion before the government proclaimed the citizens’ freedom to choose religion in the year 1947 during which their constitution was also changes. Through Shinto’s teachings, the Japanese people used to believe that they are descendants of the gods. Although many still believe in it, those who do not practice Shinto now accept the fact that they have the same racial roots with that of the Chinese and the Koreans. They are descendants of the Mongoloid race. The belief of the Shinto religion about its racial roots started to die out together with the country’s development in the technological, educational and economical fields. Like many other places, especially with the archipelagic condition, Japanese people speak several dialects depending on the location of the regions where they belong. Yet, almost all of them know how to speak their national language, Nihongo (Gonzales & Sherer, 2004, p. 135). One likely character that is also very appreciable in Nihonjins is their strict admission to the “values and traditions of the past” despite being a highly technological and developed country. They have been indeed affected by the western transformation that other countries, especially the United States, have had made of them; but at the same time, they still show a “unique mix of modern and traditional” ways of doing things (Gonzales & Sherer, 2004, p. 135). They also have this tradition of nodding or bowing for “greetings, farewells, apologies and to show gratitude” (Heinrich, 2006). Heinrich (2006) added that when the Japanese bows deeper, it means that he or she has deeper respect for the person he is bowing for. A Quick Review of Japan’s History. The history of Japan can be recalled way back to at least fourteen periods from the past. These locally-known periods include Jomon, Yayoi, Kofun, Asuka, Nara, Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, Azuchi-Momoyama, Edo, Meiji, Taisho, Showa and Heisei (“History Overview,” 2004). The present era is part of the Heisei period. The important happening that made Japan gain its own place in the face of the world and its history, according to The Columbian Encyclopedia, is attributed to the wars it had won over China in the year 1894-1895 and Russia during 1904-1905, and to its other militarist actions during the World War I. The country even gained the greatest of this plausible attention worldwide when it joined the military alliance with the Soviet Union against the United States and the Great Britain by the time World War II exploded. Yet, the pursuit against the gigantic America and Britain ended when the two countries and the other member of the Allies overturned their luck. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed; this led to the decision of Japanese rulers that it was then time to make a surrender for the sake of the whole nation. Together with the defeat was their inherent submission to the winning Allies’ demands and consequences, and the relinquishing of all its conquered states such as “China [a large part of it], other countries of the Southeast Asian region, the Philippines, and the Dutch East Indies” (p. 24800). After the World War II, Japan had to undergo several major changes. The country’s constitution was changed from Meiji to today’s National Diet. By the year 1952, those members of the Allies—especially the Americans—who occupied Japan left the country in accordance to a treaty signed by both sides. While other countries suffered from recession, Japan supplied electronics, car and other technological equipments with which it is currently known of, to many other countries. This technological knowledge paved way to the country’s recuperation of power and eventually led to its economy boost. The Japanese people who saw the inherent positive effect of the economic boom identified that their “standard of living improved.” However, the pattern only lasted a few decades until Japan’s economy started to decline in the 1990s. Nevertheless, the country still remains to be one of the most powerful in the technological economy all over the world today. Its political arena, on the other hand, was mainly controlled by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) until the year 2009 (Lambert, 2009). Currently, the country is under the leadership of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, of LDP’s opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (Cable News Network, 2009). The ‘Aging’ Population Problem: Getting Acquainted Despite the presence of other major challenges that the entire Japanese citizenry has to face today, the ‘aging’ population problem is now getting more of the nation’s attention as the realization of its effects came over when it struck the country just nearly a decade ago. Population aging means that there is an increase in the number or “relative weight or percentage” of the population of older people in relation to the population to the other age groups as indicated (Schulz, 2006, p. 301). Government officials, the media, and even the common public share almost the same views on how the future lives of all the Japanese people will be greatly affected by the existing phenomena regarding the imbalance between national birth rates, increasing life expectancy, or declining mortality rates. The problem was essentially acknowledged during the presentation of the decennial demographic census conducted in October 2000 to the public’s awareness. According to the results, there are already more aged 65 and above people in Japan compared to the population of the people aged 15 (MacKellar, Ermolieva, Horlacher, & Mayhew, 2004, p. 39). By the year 2008, the census showed that there were already 28.22 million elderly citizens which basically make up “22.1% of the total population” of Japan (Statistics Bureau, 2009, p. 10). There are two identified central bases why the population of Japan is rapidly aging. First is that the fertility rate has been and is continually declining due to social and economic factors; and second, the life expectancy of the elderly has increased. Steuerle and Kawai (1996) recognized that the main reason why the total fertility rate (TFR) of Japanese women was due to “a fall in the average number of children per family… and the migration of the population from rural to urban areas” in the post World War II when the country experienced economic boost. The TFR decline was also told to be worsened due to women’s decisions of delaying marriages. These occurrences were attributed to the economic growth that the country experienced after the World War II. On the other hand, the increased life expectancy was accounted to the nation’s economic growth which was able to provide “better nutrition, sanitary conditions, and health care that led to the sharp fall in the mortality rate” (p. 44). Having a Rapidly ‘Aging’ Population There are a number of positive effects implied in the existence of an ‘aging’ population. Coulmas (2007) described one as she noted that “an ‘aging’ population is a proof of a successful society” (p. 2). Indeed, it was apparent. The Japanese women chose not to marry earlier to take the opportunities of a growing economy such as education and work. Additionally, the increased life expectancy means that the country can offer improved living conditions that have benefited the people with more years to live and not dying early for undue reasons. Notably, the people were able to sustain economic stability more than ever. On the other hand, the bad effects outweigh the good ones. Having a rapidly-aging population puts the national stability at risk of substantial damages. Economic issues would arise as the emergent problem will [eventually] cripple the workforce, require the government to make fiscal adjustments to accommodate the increasing number of dependent citizens in the country, and—as the total birth rate continues to decline further year after year—the possibility of Japanese population decline that can lead to early ceasing of the Japanese race. The Weakening of the Workforce. Japan is a well-known manufacturer of several technological goods in the whole world today. Electronics, automotive, robotics, and even pharmaceuticals are Japan’s most famous industries that have greatly helped the country in strengthening its economy. Such successes can be related, of course, to the country’s technological knowledge, high regards to education and the positive work ethics of the Japanese labor force among others (Selvarajah & Petzall, 1989). Hence, the work force should stay the way it is to encourage more productivity and economic growth. However, with the presence of the ‘aging’ issue, Japan’s work force is in jeopardy. The country will face a labor deficit as the number of working-aged people slowly declines. With lesser population belonging to the working group, the productivity and labor force will also be weakened. Thus, the economy will be greatly affected which will further worsen the fiscal resources of the country. Fiscal-related Issues. According to Steuerle and Kawai (1996), the population aging patterns of the Japanese people “will lower the nation’s propensities for investing and saving” (p. 48). This, again, may be a result of the decreased supply capability and productivity of the work force. As a result, the number of business investments will drop both from internal and foreign investors due to decreased confidence to regain capital and enhance profitability. Moreover, the increased number of elderly population will put the government in a more pressured state as the number means increased dependent citizens. With increased dependency, more economic resources will have to be determined and national budget will have to be compromised to assist this change of fiscal needs. It is known that governments should ensure trusted social security systems that will involve a wide variety of social benefits such as health care, welfare services and many others. Indirectly affected by the decreasing rate of productivity and decline of economic growth, it will difficult for the country to “restore fiscal sustainability” (IMF, 2000, p. 28) since national savings is affected. The Decline of Japan’s Population. According to statistical surveys, only 64 million Japanese—or half of the current population—will be left by the year 2100 if there will be no changes in the demographic situation (Reisman, 2009, p. 212). Given this pattern, “the last Japanese will be born only 953 years from today.” It may sound impossible as it is mentioned. Yet, the trajectory effect that the existing condition of Japan’s population makes this forecast not impossible. Japan’s Future: Policy Implication The Japanese government must make considerable actions to keep up with the demands of the global economy despite the economic impact of that the current demographic changes have brought. Since the country is mainly affected economically, many have suggested amendment on its fiscal policies. Steuerle and Kawai (1996) provided both alternative strategies and specific fiscal policies (pp. 56-58). Alternative steps were focused on encouraging the families of the elderly share with the financial responsibilities in supporting their needs; on-going employment of older workers despite the mandatory retirement age; and producing governmental intragenerational-generating income strategies by providing welfare services to the elderly people who do not have families to take care of them. Fiscal policy implications, otherwise, must involve social security system reforms, broadening the tax base, and reforming the health care systems. These adjustments are deemed necessary as they are vital parts in the provision of services that the elderly are ought to receive from the government. Through imposing essential changes in the fiscal policies, both the responsibility of the government to take care of the welfare of its dependent citizens and its economic responsibilities will be of balance. Conclusion The human resources play a vital role in the success of a nation, especially in an industrialized country like Japan. Together with the importance of the technological knowledge and their [perhaps] inborn positive work ethics, Japan has achieved its high status worldwide mainly because of its people. Now that its capability as a nation is challenged and threatened due to the effect of the current demographic changes that the population aging has caused, the country and its leaders must utilize what it must to lessen, if not to prevent, extensive damage to its economy and the whole society. References Asia for Educators. (n.d.). Japan’s geography: topography. Retrieved from http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/japan/japanworkbook/geography/japgeo.html Cable News Network. (2009, September 17). Hatoyama elected as Japan’s prime minister. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/09/16/ japan.new.pm/index.html Coulmas, F. (2007). 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(2009). Statistical handbook of Japan 2009: population. Retrieved from http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/pdf/c02cont.pdf Steuerle, E., & Kawai, M. (Eds.). (1996). The new fiscal order: implications for industrialized nations. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press. WorldAtlas.com. (n.d.). Japan. Retrieved from http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/jp.htm Yamada, R. (2001) & Kurashige, T. (2003). Japanese geography. Retrieved from http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/japan/geography/ geography1.html Read More