Japan may be "the canary in the coal mine" for other industrialized economies as many of them try to grapple with mounting debt problems and face demographic challenges ahead.

A law was recently enacted to double the consumption tax rate by 2015 to cope with rising social security costs, but is Japan acting fast enough to put its fiscal house in order? Or as it seeks to build a long-term growth strategy, does Japan have viable solutions for a shrinking and aging population?

Those were among the observations made and questions posed by veteran journalists from Britain who spoke at a symposium in Tokyo, organized on Sept. 14 by the Keizai Koho Center under the theme, "A growth strategy for mature economies: How to boost prosperity and well-being."