Japan needs immigrants to boost population or could lose to China – minister

Japan should craft an “integrated” immigration policy to cope with its shrinking population, or risk losing out to an ageing China in competition for vital foreign workers, the cabinet minister for administrative reform said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made raising Japan’s rock-bottom birth rate a priority and wants to focus on drawing more women and elderly into the workforce to fill gaps rather than on immigration, a contentious topic in a society where many pride themselves on cultural and ethnic homogeneity.

Forecasts based on current trends expect the population to fall below 100 million in 2048 and to about 87 million by 2060, when 40 percent of people will be 65 or older. Abe wants to hold the line at 100 million by 2060, a fifth below current levels. Read More…