As part of the Liberal Democratic Party's "national resilience plan" to protect against natural and made-made disasters, I noticed one obvious natural disaster missing from the list: aging.

Aging is bringing this country to ruins. Not only can the current pension system not support a population with one of the longest life spans in the world, but the decreasing birthrate, lack of jobs and low tolerance for immigration are exacerbating Japan's path to self-destruction.

Shiraishi Island, where I live, is a perfect example. Our population is declining so fast that soon we will no longer be an island — we'll be just an islet. Yet these Seto Inland Sea islands are a potential gold mine for young people who could cultivate businesses built on tourism, agriculture and natural living. But the older people, the ones who run the country, can't see it.