Can embracing diversity solve Japan’s population problems? (Naomi Koshi, East Asia Forum)

Japan’s population has been falling since 2011. In 2014 Japan’s total fertility rate stood at 1.42 children per woman — one of the lowest in the OECD. Population decline has led to labour shortages, decreased consumption and a related hit to the economy, with GDP growth at an anaemic 0.8 per cent in 2015. Decreased tax revenues further raise the spectre that social welfare programs, such as social security-type benefits paid to the elderly, may no longer be fiscally sustainable in the near future. Embracing diversity is a key factor in solving these issues.

http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2016/10/02/can-embracing-diversity-solve-japans-population-problems/