Japan's Declining Population

The combination of a declining birth rate and an aging population has resulted in a declining population. Recent estimates suggest that if Japan does not do something to fix the problem, by the year 2100, the population will have reduced from the current 127 million to 40 million people. This is a huge problem if Japan is going to survive as a nation-- much less thrive as a leading one.
As a solution, the head of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau said that Japan needs 10 million new immigrants by the year 2050. However, law makers are leery about this plan, and it is not very popular. They would rather have foreign workers come for a limited amount of time, but those who are pro-immigration fear that this will discourage them from coming to Japan.
There are suggestions for encouraging foreign workers to stay in Japan such as speeding up the permanent residency application process and helping foreign university graduates find jobs.
For more details, here's the website: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080126f1.html.