If the Japanese population continues to decline, the possibility that bears will overflow in depopulated land, do immigration policies are necessary?

ByJanne Aaltonen

The population of Japan has continued to decline for the seventh consecutive year and the decrease also recorded the largest figure since 1968It is reported that it did. If the declining population continues in the future, further hollowing out of depopulated areas will be advanced, and shrines and schools that have become unoccupied and become empty houses can cause wild animals such as bears and wild boars to live, so "immigration policy" The necessity of the Los Angeles Times point out.

As Japan's population shrinks, bears and boars roam where schools and shrines once thrived - LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-japan-population-snap-story.html

The Los Angeles Times visited Shibata who runs dairy farming at Izumi village in Kakegawa City in Shizuoka prefecture to cover the actual situation of Japan's population decrease problem. The shrine visited by the shogi guidance by Ms. Shibata was shut down ten years ago and Mr. Shibata is no longer able to remember the name of the shrine. The shrine operates by receiving cash, prayer fees, etc. from the residents, but as the population of the village decreases, it is impossible for the shrine residing in the village to keep living, and a few years ago I heard that nobody is gone.


At least one hundred children lived in Izumi village for a while, but now the number of children is only five. Because the neighboring schools have also gone, the children go to school far away by bus for an hour. Although 250 households live in Haraizumura, Ms. Shibata says, "We will lose another half of the population in the next decade." Such a decline is occurring in various parts of Japan, and there are areas where hollowing out of population already occurs like Izumi village.

According to the census of 2015, the population of Japan has decreased from about 128 million people in 2010 to about 900,000 people, and the population deceleration momentum is accelerating. An expert predicts that by 2060 "one-third of the Japanese population will decline". It is said that the elderly people over the age of 65 in the next 30 years reach 39%, and the impact of the declining birthrate and aging population is enormous. If we compare this situation in the United States, it is the same rate that the population of 100 million people living in California, New York, Texas, Florida is lost altogether.

Japan's population decline problem is expected to bring many problems in the future. As the number of empty houses increases, fire safety and police safety problems also increase, and the transportation department has to consider the bus and train waste lines as the number of users decreases. Farmers are already suffering from shortage of successors,More than 1000 public schools closed in 2012 - 2013 aloneIt has been reported that it was done.

ByNeal Wellons

Prime Minister Abe is aiming "to maintain a population of 100 million people in the next 50 years" about the population reduction problem, but many experts anticipate "it can not be achieved without liberalization of baby boom and immigration policy" I will. At the desired fertility rate, which is a number representing the number of children a woman is expected to give birth in his / her lifetime, the level at which the population can be maintained is said to be "2.07".National Institute of Population and Social Security ResearchI am a researcher ofReiko HayashiHe said the government's "Preferred birthrate 1.8I think that even the goal of "not realistic" is considered.

Fukuoka Asian City Research InstituteI am a researcher ofTakayuki Kubo"The government's declining population decline was too late, everyone thinks it is impossible to maintain 100 million without an immigration policy and half of the local governments will disappear within 30 years But Japanese do not like sudden fluctuations. "

Domestic as of December 2015The number of registered foreigners registered about 2.2 millionAnd this is twice as many figures since 1980. In recent years I have come to see foreigners working at convenience stores and restaurants, but still the number of foreigners, including Koreans in Japan, remains at 1.7% of the total population. As a contrast, the immigration rate in the United States called the immigrant state accounts for about 13% of the population.

ByIs98 wayi

Negative aspects such as "increased crime rate" and "increased rate of unemployment" are pointed out as immigration policy,Nationwide network solidarity with migrant workersMr. Ichihei Tori said, "Politicians are spreading the urban legend that increasing acceptance of immigrants increases the crime rate and the threat of terrorism," the Abe cabinet as a single ethnic nation I am sticking to the idea of ​​Japan. "

Toyo University Department of Media CommunicationYakuji YakushijiThe professor says, "Many nurses accept incoming foreign workers when they accept foreign workers from the Philippines and Indonesia," and said that "being unable to speak Japanese well leads to hazards in hospital operations" At the same time they complain about hard labor and say "I need to increase nurses." I will serve as Executive Director of the Japan International Exchange CenterToshihiro MoritaMr. points out that "Because the main policy makers live in Tokyo with a large population, I can not notice the importance of the problem".

In Fukuoka city, in the past 5 yearsFukuoka city population surpassed 1.5 million peopledoing. This population growth rate is the largest number in the country, and furthermore we expect to increase by 100 thousand to 300 thousand by 2040.

In this way, the necessity of dealing with domestic population decline issue is emerging, but Izumi Village has more serious problems. Along with the declining population of the village, wild bear, wild boar, deer has come to appear frequently in the village, and crash accidents with automobiles are also occurring one after another. There are no measures to reduce population in Haraizumura like Fukuoka city, but many tourists visit the dairy farm operated by Shibata. Mr. Shibata said, "We still maintain a beautiful landscape, but I think that tourists will be discontinued if the scene can not be maintained as the population decreases." How do we do that? It is.