With the country's current birth rate, Japan's population of 127.5 million is expected to decline by 25% within 35 years. This slowly shrinking country also faces the problem that its population is also the oldest in the world, with more than 25% of residents over the age of 65. These two facts combine to create a truly unique and embarrassing situation in Japan that no other country has been in before. Many changes are expected to occur in Japan and efforts are being made to maintain the country's economy, however it is unclear whether sufficient efforts will be made. I predict that in the future Japan's economy will be affected by both a shrinking and aging population, and that some government reforms will be necessary to remedy population decline. The first question, of course, is: how did Japan's population begin to decline? The role of women in the workforce probably plays the largest role in population decline. “When women have children, nearly half of them end up leaving the workforce, which is double the U.S. rate. Mothers leave the workforce largely because there is no one else to care for their children; it's almost impossible to find daycare in Japan." (Chow) The lack of childcare facilities in Japan creates an environment where women must decide whether to have children or continue to work, and many of them choose the latter option. However, women are not the only ones who avoid marriage. In fact, according to a government survey of people aged 18 to 34, conducted in 2011 (Traphagan), 45% of men show no interest in dating. Given that both men and women avoid childbirth, it's no wonder that the country's birth rate is so low. However, a low birth rate is not necessarily... middle of paper......Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, is integrating robotics into both childcare and manufacturing. (Chow, Trafagan). The first area raises several questions regarding whether or not being raised by robots is humane or safe, but those questions will be saved for another time. Works Cited Ato, Makoto and Fujimasa, Iwao. “Will the declining birth rate hurt Japan?” Global aging. August 19, 2003. Web. February 11, 2014. Chow, Lisa. “Will robot nannies save Japan's economy?” NPR. National Public Radio.July 19, 2013. Web. February 12, 2014.Pearce, Fred. “Japan's aging population might actually be good news.” New scientist. 7 January 2014. Web. 11 February 2014. Rattner, Steven. “Lessons from the Japanese Economy.” Sunday review. October 19, 2013.Web. February 11, 2014.Traphagen, John. “Japan's demographic disaster.” The diplomat. February 3, 2013.