Baby Bust

For all of the political animosity between South Korea and Japan, one thing they share is a looming demographic crisis as their respective birth-rates plummet.  One Japanese village has taken the step of putting together a "Mr. January" style calendar to reach out and entice women to move back to the middle-of-nowhere:

"Finding a partner in Otari, a village in Nagano prefecture in Japan’s northern Alps known for its dramatic scenery and some of the best skiing in the country, is proving a thankless task for Kobayashi and his friends.

Its population is about a third of what it was in the 1950s; in the past decade, the number of residents has fallen from 3,734 to 2,795, including fewer than 180 children of primary and middle school age.

According to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, its population will fall to just over 900 by 2060 if current demographic trends persist. As of last March, just 275 men and 218 women in their 20s and 30s lived in Otari.

Young women are more likely to leave in search of jobs, and perhaps a partner, while the men are expected to stay and inherit family farms and businesses, leaving them with little prospect of marrying and having children."

The article says very little about immigration, which is really the only serious solution for either country.