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Impacts of having a large dependent population - Japan

Content guide

Problems

  • High dependency ratio

  • Pressure on working population 

  • Increased taxation 

  • Lack of workforce/ innovation 

  • Need for foreign workers

  • Difficulty recruiting armed forces/Difficult to defend country

  • Difficulty in providing pensions 

  • Pressure on healthcare / cost of healthcare

  • Under use of facilities for young people/closure of schools etc 

 

Benefits 

  • Wisdom of elderly;

  • Assistance with child care from extended family

  • Jobs created in care-homes/working for elderly

 

Place specific reference: Named parts of chosen country, Population data etc. 

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Introduction:

  • Japan is the world’s 3rd largest economy, and more than 29.1% of its population is over 65 years old. 

  • By 2030, one in every 3 people will be 65 or older, and one in every 5, 75-plus. 

  • Data from 2021 showed that the number of employed seniors had risen by 60,000 to 9.09 million. 

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PROBLEMS

Difficulty in providing pensions:

  • Although Japan had a high active population (around 64%), it has notably declined since August 2021, with many seniors quitting their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

  • Due to a large number of retired individuals, the government has been unable to fund pensions. 

 

Increased pressure on working population; lack of workforce & defence:

  • Japan has a very high dependency ratio and every hundred workers have to support an average of 59.8 people, increasing pressure on the working population. 

  • Due to low birth rates, there are also fewer children to become future workers. 

  • A large number of economically active people (around 1,30,000) have had to leave their jobs to care for the elderly. 

  • Due to the lack of soldiers, the army and defence of the country are now suffering.

 

Increased immigration:

  • Labour shortages and lack of production, especially in the electrical industry are being affected and industries are being forced to employ foreigners. 

  • This has led to increased inward migration which puts too much pressure on Japan’s resources. 

  • Some post-industrial towns will soon become derelict due there not being enough workers to support the industries.

 

Pressure on healthcare & increased taxation:

  • Healthcare provision is becoming stressed to the amount of elderly people. 

  • This, along with the low fertility rates, has forced the government to increase taxation. 

 

Under-use of facilities:

  • Many schools have shut down as there are not enough children. 

  • Spending has also decreased as people want to save more to support their families. 

  • This has forced retailers to increase prices or offer large discounts, and as a result, the overall cost of living in Japan has become higher.

 

BENEFITS

Improvements in quality of life:

  • As a result of the falling population, the individual income has been strongly rising. 

  • Fewer people in the future means that Japan has more living space, arable land and a higher quality of life. 

  • Japan’s technology has also improved with the lack of workforce and need for healthcare. 

 

Improvements in healthcare:

  • Due to the ageing population, Japan has started specialising in healthcare, which is a very important resource. 

  • (Explain the improvements in healthcare from previous)

 

Employment in healthcare/ care-homes:

  • There is high demand for caregivers in Japan, which provides employment opportunities.

  • Japanese healthcare ministry has predicted that the country will need 2.5 million care workers by 2025.

 

Assistance with child care from extended family: as parents go to work to support their families, the grandparents can take care of their grandchildren.

 

STRATEGIES TO MANAGE THE PROBLEMS OF HAVING A HIGH DEPENDENT POPULATION  

Government polices

  • In 2009 a policy was introduced to enable working mothers to continue working while having children. 

  • Employers were allowed to keep 65 year olds and above, to work.

  • Immigrant workers from South Korea and Philippines were allowed to work in Japan.

  • Age to avail pension increased from 60 to 65 to increase the number of taxpayers.

 

Improvements in Healthcare

  • Japan provides a high standard of care with relatively low user costs.

  • In order to cover the cost of pensions & social security, the concept of long term insurance was introduced in 2000.

  • Its universal health insurance system now has over 127 million subscribers. 

  • Japan also has very good medical data; large volumes of this high-quality data is being used for disease research and drug development.

  • Panasonic has developed a smart walker that uses AI to help users stay mobile and independent for as long as possible. 

  • Sohgo Security Services has also created a thumb-sized electronic device that can track dementia patients who wander away from their homes or care facilities. 

  • Caregivers at Shintomi nursing home in Tokyo work with 20 different models of robots including Sony’s Aibo & Intelligent Systems’Paro to improve quality of care. 

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