Korea, Japan turn toward each other as both nations stare into demographic abyss

A staff member cares for newborns in a nursery at a postpartum care center in Seoul on Feb. 28, 2024. [YONHAP]

 
With fertility rates at historic lows and populations aging at unprecedented speed, Korea and Japan are turning to each other for answers, as experts call for bold increases in family-related spending to avoid long-term demographic decline.
 
The Presidential Committee on Ageing Society held the 13th International Joint Forum on Population Strategy on Monday at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul, along with the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs and Japan’s National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.
 
 
In a keynote address, Shiro Yamazaki, director of the Institute for Population Strategy at the International University of Health and Welfare in Tokyo, introduced Japan’s “Acceleration Plan,” a large-scale policy package aimed at boosting birthrates.
 
The plan allocates 3.6 trillion yen ($23.2 billion), through 2028, to raise family-related spending per child to the average level of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
 
“Japan’s population decline is a national crisis that rapidly drains vitality from society through a vicious cycle of contraction,” Yamazaki said. “The period leading up to 2030 represents the last opportunity to reverse the low-birthrate trend.” 
 
Experts in Korea echoed the call for structural change. 
 
“Existing policies remain too fragmented to address the scale of the challenge,” said Kim Hyun-cheol, professor at Yonsei University College of Medicine and the director of the Institute for Population and Talent Research. “We need a ‘big push’ that dramatically increases family-related spending.
 
“We need a comprehensive overhaul that simultaneously eases college entrance competition, fixes structural divisions in the labor market and reduces overconcentration in the Seoul metropolitan area, while sharply increasing family-related spending relative to GDP to effectively bring the cost of raising children to zero.” 
 
Kim Eun-jung, an associate research fellow at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, said unstable jobs and soaring housing costs are driving delayed marriage and decisions to forgo marriage altogether. 
 
“Strengthening job security for workers on short-term or contract employment and those at small and medium-sized firms, significantly expanding housing support and preventing career interruptions for women are critical tasks,” Kim said. 
 
Joo Hyung-hwan, vice chair of the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy, described Korea and Japan as each other’s “future selves.”
 
“The demographic crises the two countries face about 20 years apart give them a chance to work together,” Joo said. “By learning from each other’s trial and error, Korea and Japan can avoid mistakes and find workable solutions.” 

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY RHEE ESTHER [[email protected]]