Tag - demographics

 
Menu
Search
 
May 09, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

DEMOGRAPHICS

Declining birth rates in China are driven by a myriad of causes, such as a shrinking childbearing-age population, lifestyle changes, the one-child policy’s lasting effects, an oversupply of men and high youth unemployment.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2025
Why China’s marriage crisis matters
According to China’s 2020 census, 61% of babies are born to women aged 20 to 30. But the number of women in this cohort dropped from 111 million in 2012 to 73 million in 2024.
The Bank of Korea complex in Seoul. South Korea's economic growth is hindered by structural challenges like high living costs, a tough job market and an aging population.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2024
The Bank of Korea moves beyond monetary policy
Many Koreans are pessimistic about the future, which reflects the intense competition that defines their lives, from education to employment.
The United Nations once projected the world’s population would peak at 10.3 billion in the 2080s, but now expects 700 million fewer inhabitants by 2100.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2024
Why falling fertility is not a crisis
The current population decline mirrors past transitions like the industrial revolution, where smaller families fueled economic growth and innovation.
Japan has been trying to boost its fertility rate for 30 years and now the rest of the rich world is, too.
WORLD / Society
Oct 14, 2024
Can the government get people to have more babies?
The number of babies born in Japan last year fell to the lowest level since the government started collecting statistics in 1899.
The rates of unmarried Japanese have been rising across every age group. More than 90% of women age 30-34 were married in 1980, versus 65% now.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 11, 2024
Tokyo government's 'Tinder' is actually a good idea
The rates of unmarried Japanese have been rising across every age group. More than 90% of women aged 30-34 were married in 1980, versus 65% now.
Most projections show the world will hit peak humanity in the 21st century as people choose to have smaller families and women gain power over their own reproduction.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2023
Don’t worry about global population collapse
While environmentalists have long warned of a planet with too many people, now some economists are warning of a future with too few.
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 2, 2022
At 119, she was a symbol of how to live with wit and vitality
Kane Tanaka, who died in Japan last month, survived two world wars, the 1918 influenza outbreak, paratyphoid and two rounds of cancer.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 20, 2022
China’s abortion problem can’t be regulated away
China's demographic crisis is much worse than official figures suggest. That is why the authorities have rushed out a series of recent measures, including restrictions on abortion.
BUSINESS / Longform
Apr 4, 2022
Reimagining Japan’s growing glut of empty homes
Entrepreneurs see an opportunity in Japan's abandoned properties as businesses try to change them from liabilities into assets.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2020
Age discrimination is bad for business
Not acting forcefully on ageism will increasingly carry a heavy cost for politicians.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 19, 2019
The economic challenge of Japan's aging crisis
What should the Abe administration do to mitigate the damage?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / 2010s: Decade in Review
Nov 16, 2019
The gray wave: Japan attempts to deal with its increasingly elderly population
Eighty-one-year-old Sachiko Miura wakes up at 6 a.m. every day to prepare breakfast at her newly renovated apartment located near a large supermarket, spa and a hospital in the suburbs of Japan's third largest city.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 29, 2019
Generation X faces a bleak future
As Gen Xers passed through each stage of life, they have been living through the worst possible time to be whatever age they happened to be.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 10, 2019
Can we achieve an 'age-free' society?
It's time we end the age-driven society and pay attention to the variety and differences among people in the same demographic.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 18, 2019
The fate of Japan, and everyone else
The world's third largest economy is slowly going out of business; its population is shrinking and it resists immigration.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2019
America moves from baby boom to the great baby bust
Could a wide-sweeping decline in religious beliefs be one of the underlying causes?
EDITORIALS
Sep 26, 2018
Keeping elderly workers in the labor force longer
if society needs its senior citizens to work longer, an overhaul of the system for their employment should be carried out.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 7, 2018
Australia's population to hit 25 million, a decade earlier than forecast
Australia's population will hit a record 25 million Tuesday, almost a decade earlier than projected, as it attracts hundreds of thousands of migrants each year, latest government data shows.
EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 2018
Municipality reforms critical as population drops
Reforms are needed to ensure residents continue to receive necessary services as the nation's population grays and grows smaller.
Man held after two injured in Tokyo Metro knife attack
Police outside Todaimae Station on the Namboku Line on Wednesday evening after a knife attack at the station 　
U.S. and Japan remain far apart on tariffs
Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks to the press upon his arrival at Haneda Airport on April 18. He has said that all tariffs need to be reconsidered by the United States.
Man admitted to 2025 Osaka Expo with 85-year-old ticket
The Osaka Expo, which opened last month, runs through mid-October.
Japan's 'ice age' employment generation is at risk of poverty during retirement
Those who entered the job market from around 1993 to 2004, when long-term stagnation started, are likely to struggle even more to make ends meet after retirement.
India strikes Pakistan over Kashmir tourist killings
Indian paramilitary personnel stand guard along a road in Srinagar on Wednesday after New Delhi launched missile strikes on archrival Pakistan in a major escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 expands to become one of Asia's largest startup events
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 was bustling with participants of various nationalities Thursday, and multiple languages could be heard around the room as many engaged in conversations throughout the day.
Celebrating Japan’s defeat at Shimoda’s Black Ships Festival
Tatsumi Onose (right), who plays the part of Commodore Matthew Perry in Shimoda's Black Ship Festival, says the historical episode the event is based on should be remembered for its positives more than its negatives.
'Big picture thinker': Ispace CEO Hakamada on reaching the moon and dreaming of starships
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of Ispace, says his primary interest in space development is not to abandon Earth, but to protect it.
The drive for luxury: Aston Martin Asia's president explains the desire for more
While for Aston Martin, it’s all about delivering luxury, their regional president for Asia Gregory Adams' start in the auto industry in Japan was far more humble.
Why are rice prices still high in Japan?
Amid shortages, the price of a 5-kilogram bag of rice during the week of April 14 was ¥4,220.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan
By Hanako Lowry

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after
Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER