| Summary/Abstract |
This paper critically reviews postwar population development in Japan and aims to identify unsolved issues, which are possibly shared by other countries, and extract lessons for the future. First, I examine long-term development on fertility and life expectancy in Japan with a brief introduction of pre-war population history. I stress that some critical issues have often been ignored in policy debates and some important new challenges are now emerging, factors that are indispensable to extract lessons for the future. Second, I turn to the official population projections and related issues which again require scrutiny. Third, I emphasize that serious scientific investigation from multiple disciplines is essential to cope with the challenges of demographic changes and that Japan should take the leading role in research for the next generations all over the world.
|