BUT WAIT, WEREN'T THEY SUPPOSED TO BE SATISFIED...:

An immigration conundrum in Japan (Peter Taberner, 7/16/08, Asia Times)

Immigration policy has always launched heated debate in Japan, where decades of government administrations have failed to create an expansive legal framework for migrant workers. But a declining population will perhaps create a fresh awareness and cultural outlook concerning foreign nationals living and working in Japan.

Last month, a new immigration plan proposed by 80 Liberal Democrat lawmakers and led by the party's former secretary general, Hidenao Nakagawa, pushed for Japan to loosen its borders and by 2050 to have 10% of the Japanese population consisting of immigrants - an intake of at least 10 million people.

The proposal claims that the population is shrinking as deaths now outnumber births and immigration remains tightly controlled. According to communications company CNC Japan KK, the number of Japanese will shrink to just under 90 million in 2055, from the current total of 127 million.

Nakagawa's plans are revolutionary; not only adjusting numbers to cope with labor market shortages but also inviting workers' family members to live in Japan.

...with having robots tend them as they died off?

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 15, 2008 10:18 AM