Saturday, May 12, 2012

Japan Needs Babies



Picture Antonio Pagnotta©2012


What Japan economy needs is... babies!! I reported on RTL news.「日本経済に必要なのは、赤ちゃん!」私のRTL( フランス)最新レポートです。Alertez les bébés...!

http://www.rtl.fr/actualites/insolite/article/au-japon-il-se-vend-plus-de-couches-pour-adultes-que-pour-bebes-7748037975


1) Joël Legendre, sur RTL, le 11 Mai 2012 Journal de 18:30


Les ventes de couches pour adultes ont "légèrement surpassé" celles pour bébés,  car on ne fait pas assez de bébé au Japon qui compte un enfant de moins toutes les 100 secondes. C'est la catastrophe pour tout le système socio-économique qui découle de ce vieillissement rapide.


La retraite et le 3e âge qu'on imagine calme et paisible dans les kimonos fleuris c'est beau dans les pubs mais faute de revenus et en période de crise. C'est le cauchemar. Car ici les Japonais de 65 ans ou plus représentent un quart de la population, les femmes vivent jusqu'à 86 ans et les hommes 80. Si la tendance se poursuit, la population chutera de 30% entre 2010 et 2060, pour s'établir à 85 millions.


Ce vieillissement est un casse-tête économique pour Tokyo qui s'escrime pour assurer le financement des retraites et répondre aux dépenses de santé.


Poussant la logique des chiffres jusqu'à  l'absurde, Un démographe de l'Université du Sendai, Hiroshi Yoshida a mis au point une pendule démographique. Constat effrayant. Avec 16 millions d'enfants, et au taux actuel le Japon n'aura plus aucun enfant dans mille ans!


Mille ans, Bon, il y a encore du temps aux japonais pour se ressaisir et  faire de jolis bébés! Sinon la démographie ce sera le plus gros problème de la 3e économie mondiale...




2) In addition to my report there is this background for my fellow English speaking blog's followers:


This is not the same demographic and aging problems for France (beyond 2%) for Japan (1.39) or Singapore (1.2) and there are several impacts on our radar screen. As French philosopher Auguste Comte once said: "Japan's demographic challenge will lead to worrying scenarios for Asia." Security: Indeed Japan wont have enough feet to put in those boots, not enough hands to hold the flag" Japan's demographic is a guillotine that cuts down its strategic options... It goes well beyond the desire to have babies. Economy: Many reports were written about this problem with the recent visit of the OECD Angel Gurria who recommends to feminize the working population, or run the obligation to call for immigration. Health: The National Institute of Social Welfare and demographic problems: The Japanese population will drop by a third between 2010 and 2060! We know it since 2006. 75% of the people who will populate Japan in 2040 are already alive. 1 in 20 Japanese will live with dementia or Alzheimers. Marriage is collapsing. 10 million fewer were married in 2010. "Ballooning debt obligations will compound the demographic pressures on economic performance." (Wilson Quarterly: Japan Shrinks by Nicholas Eberstadt) Society: In other words we can talk about a Japan's demographic doom, a time bomb) It pleads in favor in allowing immigrant workers "to come in."

Sunday, May 06, 2012

May 6th 2012 the day when Japan was nuclear free


Picture Antonio Pagnotta©2012


"You may believe it's a chaotic world without any rhyme or reason. How you perceive the world not only tells about the world, but it is also a reflection of how your mind works." (Zen philosophy)



May 6th 2012, an important week end, Japan closed its last nuclear power reactor. France elects a new President of La République...


The last of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors switched off May 5th ! Tomari No. 3 reactor operated by Hokkaido Electric Power Co. shut down Saturday in Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido for maintenance. The question is to see if Japan will survive the summer without power blackouts. If yes, citizens may pressure the government to accelerate temporary nuclear shutdowns. A two decades move requested by 54% of people surveyed recently by Tokyo Shimbun. Prime minister Noda's government options are to re-open the nuclear plants of Oi, in the Fukui prefecture, west Japan, a topic monitored by Osaka mayor Hashimoto Toru who wants to make it a national concern. Hard indeed to convince the Japanese, a recent survey by Kyodo news agency established that 60 per cent of respondents are against restarting the Oi reactors. The next political agenda of Japan is opened for a candidate prime minister able to conceive how to develop a sustainable friendly to environment strong economy in the post-Fukushima 3/11 era? Theme which is very dear to the Japanese society who praises prosperity and modernity... I reported on this issue on RTL recently.


A bad news for the contamination of food in Japan, we heard that some indelicate Japanese importers companies have apparently flooded Japanese market with Chernobyl's contaminated food in total legality, the daily Chunichi wrote May 1st. If this info is true, it means that the 500 becquerels safety limit for one year has turned Japan into a trash can for radioactive food from Eastern europe!