Japan's population crisis reaches tipping point | FT Film

Japan has been struggling to cope with a combination of anaemic economic growth and a shrinking population for over 30 years. 2025 marks the tipping point when the rising costs outstrip the country's capacity to pay for them. The FT's Tokyo bureau chief Leo Lewis looks at how the country has managed its slow burning demographic crisis and what the rest of the world can learn from its experience

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00:00 - Introduction

01:06 - Japan's population alarm

01:54 - Understanding the 2025 problem

02:38 - Comparing international fertility rates

03:37 - Fuwaku, the rugby club for the over 70s

05:36 - Seijin-no Hi, Japan's coming of age festival

06:17 - The link between birth rates and marriage

07:25 - Okunitama shrine and the cost of getting married

08:24 - The link between fertility and wages

10:14 - The Tokyo government's dating app

11:03 - Kiricafe and the growing number of immigrants in Japan

14:01 - Rising government spending on the elderly

15:07 - Unicharm: from baby nappies to adult diapers

16:01 - Ito En: making tea for the elderly

16:41 - House Boat Club: changing funeral traditions

17:53 - China's similar demographic path to Japan

19:10 - Is Japan's experience what success looks like?

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