The PM doesn't explicitly say why the population can't decline. I'm sure there are certain services, like social security in the U.S., that rely on a young tax-paying base. But, overall, the decline in population seems like a temporary problem with many possible solutions, some of which allow the population to fall gracefully. Assuming the wealth of the nation is fixed, halving the population would allow each citizen to own a slice of the pie twice as big.
> In Europe and America, right-wing movements point to it as a shining example of racial purity and social harmony.<p>It's throw away lines like this that make the BBC and others like it lose credibility to me.<p>If you're going to make such a claim, the least you can do is cite at least one example.<p>I've never seen or heard any conservative in the U.S. laud Japan's "racial purity".<p>What utter nonsense.