Asia’s advanced economies now have lower birth rates than Japan
The cost of housing may be the biggest factor
The list of things for which Japan enjoys a global reputation includes delicious food, cutting-edge technology, an oversupply of karaoke bars and an undersupply of babies. In 1990 it published a record-low fertility rate for the previous year—the so-called “1.57 shock”. For years it has been seen as a harbinger of how rich societies will age and shrink.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “NIMBYs v babies”
Asia May 21st 2022
- Burmese civilians are caught between the junta and the resistance
- Myanmar’s resistance is at risk of believing its own propaganda
- Turkmenistan’s new president is clamping down on women’s freedoms
- Asia’s advanced economies now have lower birth rates than Japan
- India’s politicians have figured out how to turn welfare into votes
From the May 21st 2022 edition
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