Regarding "Panel to brainstorm lifestyle solutions for Japan's demographic ills" in the Sept. 10 edition, no one wants to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Japan has the world's highest debt to GDP burden among developed and growing economies, and it continues to live way beyond its means as if it were still the '60s.
Add in the fastest aging numbers, and doomsday does not appear too far off. Coupled with this is the staunch resistance to examine immigration policy. Instead AI and robotics seem to be the new flavor — from baby sitting to performing funerals, a robot will be more welcome than an "alien" fellow homo sapien. Japan will be a lonely eerie place very soon, if not extinct.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.