ABSTRACT
The irregularities in the age structure of the population of Japan will continue as the children of the post1945 baby boom, which followed the war and the return of expatriates, themselves produce another bulge early in the twenty-first century. A matter of great concern already is the prospect that the proportion of population of 65 years and over will grow from about 12 per cent in 1990 to about 21 per cent after 2010, reaching possibly 28 per cent by 2045. Indeed, Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world and a total fertility rate of only 1.5. The prospect that the population trend could be affected by emigration or immigration seems highly unlikely. Japan is distinguished among developed countries by its tight restrictions on immigrants, including refugees, presumably on the grounds of lack of space but also through a desire to protect the racial and cultural integrity of its population.
