Many arguments have been made to the forthcoming exceedingly advanced population ageing in Japan where total fertility rate has not easily been on rise, and the population size in the future may become its incipient decline. The projected figures of future population structure do not give anybody a very rosy prospect of the future population trajectory in which the old-age dependency ratio would very definitely increase, elderly/children ratio would also increase very rapidly while the working-age population who are the incumbent to support the social costs of the aged would definitely shrink in absolute number as well as in proportion. In view of this, one cannot help but think that the humankind is between Scylla and Charybdis in the whirlpooling strait of population, the former character symbolizing the over population and heavy youth-dependency due to high fertility and latter character indicating the ageing of population due to fertility decline and heavy old-age dependency.
What are we going to do in this context? What we must recognize is that the ageing society is a kind of invitable state of affairs derived from the process of demographic transition, the process of transformation of high birth rate and high death rate to low birth rate and low death rate. What we should do then is to prepare and formulate appropriate programmes in keeping abreast of and in being harmony with the imminent arrival of a super-scaled ageing society. But, at the same time, we must reckon some good aspects of ageing society where the probabilities of surviving among the aged are very large, hence the investment on human resources would get the maximum returns. There are many substantial benefits to be accrued from the population ageing. It is envisaged that decrease would be seen not only in juvenile delinquency but also in general crime, violence, rape, vandalism, etc. It is also envisioned that automobile
and motor-bike accidents would considerably be reduced and consequently the streets would regain tranquility and automobile insurance premium would appreciably be reduced. But let us discuss more fundamental issues relating to the demography and sociology of the nation.
