Japan’s population decreased by nearly 1 million people over the past five years according to the country’s latest census, the first recorded population decline for the country since the 1920s.
Officials expect deaths to continue to outnumber births for the foreseeable future.
The largest drop, unsurprisingly, was in Fukushima, site of the 2011 nuclear disaster.
At current rates, by 2060, Japan’s population will be one-third smaller than it is now and 40 percent of its citizens will be older than 65, a grim prospect for an already struggling economy.
I – Word Understanding
Outnumber – be more numerous than.
Census – an official count or survey of a population
II – Have Your Say
I One obvious solution to Japan’s population problem would be foreign immigration, but Abe has shown little interest in loosening the country’s notoriously strict immigration laws.
II As people get richer and more educated, they tend to have fewer children. As life expectancies increase, populations get grayer.
1.Solution to Japan’s population problem would be foreign immigration, do you agree?
2.A side from foreign immigration, what do you think the other solution to solve the problem?
3.Do you think that foreign immigration won’t affect your culture?
4.What do you think the other reason why Japan is running out of people?
