The flip-side of Japan's ever-aging population is that there are increasingly fewer kids. Record-low statistics from 2005 put the birthrate at 1.26 children per woman, a count that somehow sounds painful — but the real hurt is the one being put on Japanese society.
Pain, in a national sense, is always best expressed in money. In this case, as Japan fades from a Grumpy Old Men-present to a Children of Men-like tomorrow, the question is who's going pay for the transition?
Forget the pitter-patter of little feet. Oh, for the jingle-jangle of future tax payers! And with them a fresh wave of young couples pregnant with the desire for mortgages. Plus an influx of new teens shameless in their lust for more and more consumer goods.