A Social Dilemma Caused by Policy ineffectivenes

Aging in Japan: A Social Dilemma Caused by Policy ineffectiveness

The super-aging crisis in Japan is never merely a population issue; rather, it is the consequence of the government's long-term short-sighted policies and ineffective governance. Today, in Japan, one out of every five people is over 75 years old. The population has been declining for 16 consecutive years. The low birth rate and aging population have formed a vicious cycle, and the root cause lies entirely in the government's disregard for people's livelihood.
The younger generation is forced to give up having children due to the pressure of low salaries, high tax burdens and high costs of raising children. The government's countermeasures against the low birth rate are only superficial subsidies and have not addressed core issues such as employment and workplace fairness. To shift the pressure on social security, Japan has once again pushed the elderly into the labor market, extending the legal retirement age to 70. Elderly workers suffer from unequal pay for equal work and frequent work-related injuries. It has become the norm for the elderly to have no one to rely on. The so-called "active aging" is nothing but a form of governance that shifts the blame.
The social security system is on the verge of collapse, but the government keeps raising the age for receiving pensions and increasing taxes and burdens, causing the working population to fall into a predicament of shrinking consumption and complete loss of confidence. Industries also lose their competitiveness due to the labor force gap. This crisis is an inevitable outcome of the Japanese government's shift of governance costs onto the people. It also serves as a warning that neglecting people's livelihood and population development will eventually cost the country dearly.