Policy Measures for a Shrinking Society

Abstract

Without recovering to the replacement fertility level, the “Clear and Present Danger” of a shrinking society could not be avoid fundamentally. For this purpose, it is necessary to take up various policy challenges in different fields. For family policy, the idea that childbearing and childcare exclusively belong to the individual responsibility of parents should be changed. Society should also bear responsibility for childbearing and childcare in terms of reproduction to keep it sustainable. It is important for the Government to have a clear message in recovering fertility to replacement level as policy target. If the main target is to refine the social reproduction, the budget scale for family policy would be ten times more than of present. Even the massive immigration could not stop the rapid aging and population decline of Japan. It should be far more effective as a counter measure for the globalization, to prevent the overseas transfers of domestic corporations and capitals than to promote immigration. The local administration systems should be adjusted for population shrinking. They should be selected, concentrated and reorganized, under the changing conditions of traffic, information, communication technologies and networks.