少子高齢化しょうしこうれいかと働はたらく人ひとの未来みらい

While the proportion of elderly people rises year by year, the number of children being born keeps falling. This is not a problem for only a few countries.

The first worry is that the number of working people will shrink. If the generation that supports society becomes smaller, the burden on each individual will grow heavier.

The areas hit hardest are rural regions. Because young people leave for the cities, schools, hospitals and shops close one after another, and quite a few towns become hard to live in.

That said, we cannot call ageing entirely bad. If we build systems that let experienced older people keep working without strain, they should become a great strength for their communities.

What matters, surely, is to create an environment where raising children is easy and at the same time to aim for a society where people can work regardless of age.