Population > Japanese Population Shrinks for First Time
From Yahoo News:
Japan's population stood at 127,687,000 as of October 2004. The health ministry said births were set to fall by 44,000 to 1,067,000 this year, with deaths going up 48,000 to 1,077,000 year-on-year.
This year's decrease is tiny, but the population is expected to halve by 2100. Japan's a crowded country, and a smaller population might be better in some ways, but Japan's social welfare, healthcare, and pension system is going to be challenged by even small downturns. There's also no telling what will happen to real estate in a country that loses half its population, and what that will do to the economy.
Posted by lesjones
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