ABSTRACT
Japan’s aging and declining population poses enormous policy challenges while casting a cloud over the nation’s future prospects. While medical advances promise longer lives and a more active and healthy elderly, they do not really offer a demographic soft landing. An expanding elderly cohort may become more productive but will be a growing burden on pension and medical care systems just as the number of tax payers supporting those programs is shrinking. Policy reforms can mitigate the implications, but progress on tapping women’s talents and immigration has been limited.
