How to spark joy in being parents: The existential challenge for East Asia

TOKYO/SEOUL – Japan launched a Children and Families Agency on Saturday in its last-ditch effort to steer the country away from the apocalyptic vision spelt out by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida:

a society on the brink of collapse.

Japan had, in a bygone era, led Asia in economic growth. The proverbial chief goose in the “flying geese” paradigm, however, now leads the continent in ageing. Three in 10 Japanese are senior citizens.

Births fell below 800,000 in 2022

for the first time in recorded history since 1899, and eight years earlier than forecast.