Wow, that's quite a lot to think about, @sakurasui. I wish my Japanese skills were at the point where I could read "日本の国難　2020年からの賃金・雇用・企業". It seems like something I would enjoy, even if I'm not very knowledgeable in Economics.

Thanks for the summary. It's fascinating to watch Japan's economy from a distance here in North America. I have wondered about the very low birth rate for years, and the English-language Japanese news sites I view have talked about trying to bring in more foreign workers to make up for the slump in employment due to the aging workforce.

This is especially important to watch from here in the US, because we also have a very large number of people who should be exiting the workforce but who cannot because they lost so much of their savings in 2009. I could see what happens in Japan mirrored in the US in another ten years. I hope we're able to learn from Japan's actions and maybe avoid making the same mistakes. Other than opening the country up to more immigrants though, I don't see an easy way out for the Japanese.

I certainly don't wish harmful things on the country or its citizens. It's a beautiful place that I hope to visit one day. Maybe I will see you there, and wave from across the street. :)