JAPAN CASE STUDIES

POPULATIONS IN TRANSITION: AGEING POPULATION

The aging of Japan is thought to outweigh all other nations, as the country is purported to have the highest proportion of elderly citizens; more than 20% are over the age of 65 today The age 65 and above demographic group increased from 26.5 million in 2006 to million in 2011, a 11.2% increase. The Japanese Health Ministry estimates the nation's total population will decrease by 25% from million in 2005 to 95.2 million by Japan's elderly population, aged 65 or older, comprised 20% of the nation's population in June 2006, a percentage that is forecast to increase to 38% by 2055 This aging of the population was brought about by a combination of low fertility and high life expectancies (i.e., low mortality). A number of factors contributed to the trend toward small families: high education, devotion to raising healthy children, late marriage, increased participation of women in the labor force, small living spaces, education about the problems of overpopulation, and the high costs of child education. The leading causes of death are cancer, heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease, a pattern common to industrialized societies. The aging of the population was already becoming evident in the aging of the labor force and the shortage of young workers in the late-1980s, with potential impacts on employment practices, wages and benefits, and the roles of women in the labor force. The increasing proportion of elderly people also had a major impact on government spending. Millions of dollars are saved every year on education and on health care and welfare for children. social expenditures amounted to In 1992 that portion of the national budget was 18%, and it was expected that by 2025, 27% of national income would be spent on social welfare. Japan has focused its policies on the work-life balance with the goal of improving the conditions for increasing the birth rate. To address these challenges, Japan has established goals to define the ideal work-life balance that would provide the environment for couples to have more children with the passing of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Law

HAZARDS & DISASTERS: JET

The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tōhoku, was a magnitude 9.0 (Mw) undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 It was the most powerful known earthquake ever to have hit Japan, and the fifth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900 On 12 September 2012, a Japanese National Police Agency report confirmed 15,883 deaths 6,143 injured, and 2,681 people missing across twenty prefectures, as well as 129,225 buildings totally collapsed, with a further 254,204 buildings 'half collapsed', and another 691,766 buildings partially damaged Around 4.4 million households in northeastern Japan were left without electricity and 1.5 million without water The tsunami caused nuclear accidents, primarily the level 7 meltdowns at three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex, and the associated evacuation zones affecting hundreds of thousands of residents. Early estimates placed insured losses from the earthquake alone at US$14.5 to $34.6 billion. The Bank of Japan offered ¥15 trillion (US$183 billion) to the banking system on 14 March in an effort to normalize market conditions. The World Bank's estimated economic cost was US$235 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in world history. Although Japan has invested the equivalent of billions of dollars on anti-tsunami seawalls which line at least 40% of its coastline and stand up to 12 m (39 ft) high, the tsunami simply washed over the top of some seawalls, collapsing some in the process. The tsunami resulted in over 340,000 displaced people in the Tōhoku region, and shortages of food, water, shelter, medicine and fuel for survivors. As of March 2012, donations to areas affected by the disaster totaled ¥520 billion and 930,000 people have assisted in disaster recovery efforts