Japan’s government hasn’t had much success lifting that ratio with policies aimed at increasing the number of babies being born.
“They’ve tried to get women or men to change where they live, to incentivise getting together as partners. Incentivise having children. Practically none of it has worked, and that’s true for any other country that has tried that,” Spoonley said.
The Japanese women Newshub talked to all said they wanted children, but were worried about how they could afford it as the cost of living keeps rising.
“I really want to have a kid in future, but I’m worried about childcare and the financial support I can get,” Mao Okamoto expressed.
Tanaka said the Government has also been lifting taxes in an effort to pay for the growing pension costs, but she’d like to see a better focus on encouraging women into having a family.
“The Government could offer better support for families such as extended parental leave and financial incentives,” she said.
‘There will be a lot of abandoned buildings’
As the population shrinks, so too is the need for housing. Cucek said there is already an estimated nine million empty houses, and that’s predicted to rise over 15m.
“There will be a lot of abandoned buildings. Those empty spaces will proliferate so that… there will be buildings, but in an apartment building, there will be maybe two or three apartments, and then the rest will be just vacant,” he said.
“It will be very strange, and it will be quiet, that’s for sure.”
Juri Tanaka said she’s seen the impacts in rural Japan.
“The shrinking population can create like ghost towns in rural areas, where businesses have to close down because of lack of demand,” she said.
Prof Spoonley said New Zealand could also look very different in future.
“There are a lot of areas in New Zealand that are going to see that ageing population not only dominate, but really completely characterise that area. It will be an area largely of old people.
“We’re entering territory, which we really haven’t entered before,” he said.