January 03, 2014 - With Japan’s birth rate and the number of young people continuing
to fall, the nation’s Catholic Church has sought to raise awareness on the urgency
of increasing the number of births in the nation of 127 million. With the number
of births falling for the seventh consecutive year, and the number of those under
15 years dropping for the 33rd consecutive year, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's
economic recovery efforts seems jeopardized. Without young people to pay for the
elderly, the entire welfare system is in danger of collapse at a time when a rising
national debt is dampening prospect of economic growth. According to Health Ministry
and the Statistics Bureau of Japan, the country's population dropped by 244,000 last
year, a seventh straight year of decline. Births fell by about 6,000 from a year earlier
to 1,031,000 and deaths increased by about 19,000 to 1,275,000. For the past 33 years,
the population under 15 has also dropped. Rising welfare spending is pushing up the
debt in a country where the national debt is almost twice the GDP. And a declining
population cuts domestic demand increasing deflationary pressures. In its concern
over the issue, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan (JBCJ) had declared 2010
the 'Year of Life' and launched a series of medical and social initiatives in favour
of more births. However, the results have not yet been satisfactory. Many couples
wait too long to have a child, focusing on their career. Equally, a very high rate
of suicide among young people and consumption-related policies do not bode well for
the future. (Source: AsiaNews)