Population Aging in Japan and Implications for Public Finance from SPICE on Vimeo.
In recent decades Japan has gone through some major epidemiologic and demographic transitions. As a result of longer life expectancy due to better control of infectious disease, better nutrition, and other factors, paired with very low fertility rates, Japan is leading the world in terms of population aging. Japan’s aging and declining population poses a few major challenges for the country.
Karen Eggleston, Director of the Asia Health Policy Program at the Walter Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at Stanford University, explains the social and economic implications of Japan's aging population.
In the accompanying discussion guide, students will look more closely at how Japan is changing and how it is impacting the country's public finance and healthcare systems.