Demographics:

Total population:

1-Not at all 2-Not adequate 3-Neutral 4-Adequate 5-Highly

adequate adequate

Japan has a total population of 127,078,679, July 2010 est. living in over 47,062,743
households (CIA Fact book) making it the world’s 10th most populated country. Japan has a
high population density of over 329.5 persons per square kilometer for total area and 1523
persons per square kilometer for habitable land. More then 50% of the population lives on 2%
of the land (CIA Fact book). So in terms of population Japan is adequate for the marketing
our product.

Population growth rate:

1-Not at all 2-Not adequate 3-Neutral 4-Adequate 5-Highly

adequate adequate

The growth rate in Japan is 7.64 births per thousand populations and the death rate is 9.54
deaths per thousand populations (CIA Fact book)

Although the population of 127 million is forecast to increase in the next few years, the rate
of growth has been dropping dramatically and has resulted in a mean age of 41.86 in 2004.
The reasons for this include:
• The declining birth rate, which dropped from 13.5 in 1980 to 9.0 in 2004;
• The increase in the average age of women at childbirth;
• Life expectancy at birth is the highest in the world, at 82.5 in 2004;
• This trend is even more apparent when looking at the age distribution within Japanese
society. The dependency ratio (population aged 65+ as a proportion of population aged
15-65) in 2004 was 0.284 in 2004, up from 0.124 in 1977 - an increase of 129%.

Age structure:

1-Not at all 2-Not adequate 3-Neutral 4-Adequate 5-Highly

adequate adequate

X
 0–14 years: 0–14 years: 0–14 years: 15–64 years 15–64 years 15–64 years 65 years & over 65 years & over 65 years & over
Year
(male) (female) (% total) (male): (female): (% total): (male): (female): (% total):

2010 8,665,440 8,212,680 13.3% 40,969,829 40,291,648 64.1% 12,163,028 16,501,808 22.6%

2009 8,804,465 8,344,800 13.5% 41,187,425 40,533,876 64.3% 11,964,694 16,243, 419 22.2%

2007 9,024,344 8,553,700 13.8% 41,841,760 41,253,968 65.2% 11,312,492 15,447,230 21%

2006 9,309,524 8,849,476 14.2% 42,158,122 41,611,754 65.7% 10,762,585 14,772,150 20%

Source: CIA Factbooks 2010

Japan has the oldest population in the world and combined with the highest life expectancy in
the world, this is resulting in an ageing population, which could have serious consequences
for its economy.
Japan's economy has shown signs of recovery following the recession of the 1990s, with real
GDP growth rising from –1.2% in 1998 to 4.4% in 2004.
Conversely to this economic growth, Japan's population growth is slowing. In addition, the
distribution is changing in that it is increasing in age, with Japan now having the oldest
population in the world.

Chart 1 Population distribution: 1977

Source: Euromonitor International from National Statistics

Chart 2 Population distribution: 2004

Source: Euromonitor International from National Statistics

Implications

Consequences are widespread, with Japan's ageing society having an impact on an already
fragile economy:
• A shrinking workforce, which will have to cope with the high dependency ratio;
• A decline in activity of the investment market, as older people are perceived to take fewer
risks;
• A potential rise in health care costs;
• There may also be a major shift in consumer and government expenditure patterns with
more spending on healthcare;
• An impact on marketers and imports as consumer demand changes;
• Increased strain on the pension system.

Future Scenarios

Japan is already taking measures to tackle this issue and there are many options available to
curb an economic crisis:
• The introduction of fiscal incentives to boost birth rates;
• The automation of much of the labour process;
• A revision of the 'seniority culture' where older people are paid more;
• A rise in the retirement age. In 2004, the government passed a law making employers
raise the retirement age to 65 or more by 2013;
• A review of the strict immigration laws to facilitate an influx of foreign labour;
Middle class size:

1-Not at all 2-Not adequate 3-Neutral 4-Adequate 5-Highly

adequate adequate

Japanese people enjoy a high standard of living and nearly 90% of the population is
considered a part of the middle class. Many studies on happiness and satisfaction with life
tend to find that Japanese people have relatively low levels of satisfaction and happiness
when compared to most of the highly developed world. The levels have remained consistent if
not declining slightly over the last half century

Urban/Rural composition

1-Not at all 2-Not adequate 3-Neutral 4-Adequate 5-Highly

adequate adequate

The total urban population of Japan in 2008 was 66% of the total population (CIA Factbook),
which means that Japan has a major part of the population living in urban areas. The rate of
urbanisation in Japan is 0.2% annual rate of change (CIA Factbook).

References :
World bank 2009
<http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/J
APANEXTN/0,,menuPK:273817~pagePK:141159~piPK:141110~theSitePK:273812,00.html
> (Accessed 26th August 2010).

Euromonitor international, country profile : Japan

<http://www.portal.euromonitor.com/Portal/DocumentView.aspx> (accessed 26th August
2010)

Ministry of internal affairs and communications, Japan

<http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/jinsui/2.htm> (Accessed 27th August 2010)

W. Kelly Williams (2004) At the limits of new middle class Japan: Beyond mainstream
consciousness <https://webspace.yale.edu/anth282/writing/WWK_in-Zunz_1.pdf> (Accessed
27th August 2010)