Japanese Society and Challenges in the Reiwa Era

Japan in the Reiwa Era faces many challenges, including population decline, a declining birthrate and an aging population, economic stagnation, inequality, and disaster preparedness. These issues directly affect the junior high school students who will live in Japan's future.

Basic Knowledge

Japan's population peaked at about 128.08 million in 2008 and has continued to decline, reaching about 123.75 million as of 2024. The total fertility rate reached a record low of 1.20 in 2023(Tokyo fell below 1, at 0.99). Meanwhile, the population aged 65 and over was 36.23 million(an aging rate of 29.1%, among the highest in the world), and is expected to reach 35% in 2040. On January 1, 2024, the Noto Peninsula Earthquake(M7.6) occurred, killing more than 500 people, mainly in Ishikawa Prefecture. In August of the same year, the Nankai Trough Earthquake Advisory(the first ever) was issued. Economically, in 2024, the Nikkei Stock Average reached a record high for the first time in 34 years(over 40,000), suggesting signs of an end to deflation.

In Depth (Background and Impact)

In 2023, the government established the Children and Families Agency and introduced "unprecedented" measures to address the declining birthrate, including expanded child allowances. Under work-style reform, the Work Style Reform Laws were gradually implemented beginning in 2019, introducing limits on overtime work. They began in 2020 for small and medium-sized businesses and in 2024 for doctors and the construction industry. In education, programming education in elementary schools became compulsory in 2020, and Information I became compulsory in high schools in 2022. Social diversity has also advanced, and same-sex partnership systems have spread among local governments nationwide(initiated by Shibuya and Setagaya in 2015 and covering about 80% of the population as of 2024). However, legalization of same-sex marriage has not been achieved, and the Supreme Court has continued to issue rulings finding the current system unconstitutional.

Points to Note (Easy to Confuse)

① The population peaked in 2008. Births peaked during the postwar baby boom(1947-49, 2.7 million per year) and the second baby boom(1971-74). ② The total fertility rate is an estimate of the number of children a woman gives birth to over her lifetime; 2.07 is needed to maintain the population. ③ Distinguish the Noto Peninsula Earthquake(January 1, 2024) from the Great East Japan Earthquake(March 11, 2011) and the Great Hanshin Earthquake(January 17, 1995). ④ The Children and Families Agency(established in 2023) is an external bureau of the Cabinet Office and has different roles from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology(education), the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare(medical care and welfare), and the Digital Agency(established in 2021).

Practice

1. In what year did Japan's total population peak, and what was the total?
2. What is the name of the government agency established in 2023 that became the command center for measures to address the declining birthrate?
3. What was the name of the earthquake of seismic intensity 7 that occurred on New Year's Day in 2024?