According to Masako Mori, an aide to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan risks ceasing to exist if the issue of its extremely low birthrate is not addressed. Mori, a former minister and upper house lawmaker, advises the PM on the birthrate issue as well as LGBTQ issues.
The official made the comments in an interview shortly after the country’s Ministry of Health released annual statistics on death and birth rates, which painted a bleak picture. With 799,728 births and 1.58 million deaths, the country lost twice as many people as it gained.
“If we continue in this manner, the country will vanish. The people who must live through the disappearance process will suffer greatly. Those children will be afflicted by a terrible disease “Mori stated this.
The figures continue Japan’s decade-long trend of population decline, despite the fact that the birthrate fell below 800,000 for the first time in 2022. Japan’s population has also continued to age, with the median age now standing at 49 years. The number of people over the age of 65 reached more than 29%, making Japan the world’s second oldest country, trailing only the European microstate of Monaco.
If the current trend continues, Japan risks a total breakdown of its society, according to Mori, who added that the birthrate situation is becoming increasingly alarming each year. “It’s not dropping gradually; it’s dropping straight down,” she explained.
“The people who must live through the disappearance process will suffer greatly. Those children will be afflicted by a terrible disease “Mori stated this. “If nothing is done, the social security system will collapse, industrial and economic strength will decline, and the Self-Defense Forces will not have enough recruits to protect the country.”
The ominous remarks echoed those made by Mori’s boss in late February. Kishida described the birthrate situation as an urgent threat to Japanese society at the time, promising more spending to encourage childbirth, with increasing children’s allowances being a key measure.
“Japan is on the verge of not being able to function as a society,” he said at the time. “Focusing attention on child and childrearing policies is an issue that cannot wait and cannot be postponed.”
