Jul 18 2009
The Slow Death of Western Civilization
Mark Steyn has a great piece in the corner, on his recurring theme of the aging population of the Western world (which does now include Japan and Korea, for all intents and purposes).
Japan’s population peaked in 2004 at about 127.8 million and is projected to fall to 89.9 million by 2055. The ratio of working-age to elderly Japanese fell from 8 to 1 in 1975 to 3.3 to 1 in 2005 and may shrivel to 1.3 to 1 in 2055. “In 2055, people will come to work when they have time off from long-term care,” said Kiyoaki Fujiwara, director of economic policy at the Japan Business Federation.