December 20, 2006
FORGET FLUORIDE, PUT GERITOL IN THE WATER:
Japan's population to fall 30% by 2055, study finds (Japan Times, 12/21/06)
Japan's population is expected to fall to less than 90 million by 2055, compared with today's roughly 127.8 million, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Wednesday. [...]Posted by Orrin Judd at December 20, 2006 8:28 PMAccording to the latest estimate, in 50 years Japanese aged 65 or older will double to around 41 percent of the total population, while those 14 or younger will comprise only about 8 percent.
"It has become apparent that the tendency for the number of children to decline has yet to improve," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said at a press conference, underscoring the government's alarm over the issue.
The institute's projections show the population aging at an accelerating rate and a growing impact on the country's social welfare systems and economy.
A lot can happen in a half century. I can't think of a thing that was correctly predicted over the last 48 years.
For instance, who could have predicted in 1958 that in 2006 an old granny could sit on a porch in Florida with looks like a small aluminum covered notebook on her lap and with the click of a mouse? bring pictures of her grandchildren who live far far away right in front of her wondering eyes ... and with another click, a printer in another room jumps into action and prints those pictures in breathtaking colors in the twinkling of eye.
Things won't be the same, but it's not necessarily a given that they'll be worse.