International Working Women Ranking

For the second year in a row, Japan ranked third worst place among developed nations for working women, in the 2024 international ranking by the British magazine The Economist. This ranking is based on the glass-ceiling index, which measures the role and influence of women in the workforce. The index measures factors such as labor force participation, parental leave, political representation, and salaries.

Japan ranked 27th place out of 29, followed by South Korea and Turkey. According to the annual survey, Sweden was in the top spot, followed by Iceland, Finland, and Norway. These countries ranked highly because of gender neutral policies and working parent support. New Zealand was the “most improved country”, rising eight places to fifth, tied with France and Portugal. Britain and Canada tied at 14th, with the US ranking 19th. 

South Korea and Japan of rank near the bottom in the annual survey because of the challenges women in these countries face with balancing family and career. The US is noted for not offering paid parental leave, which negatively impacts its ranking. 

What do you think about the roles of working women in your country? Do you agree with the results of this survey?

Japan’s Birthrate Falls to Record Low

Last year, the number of births in Japan fell below 700,000 for the first time on record, according to government data. In 2024, 686,061 babies were born in Japan, which was 41,227 fewer than in 2023, and the lowest number since records began in 1899. This was the ninth consecutive low and said to be due to marrying later and the perceived high cost of raising children.

Prime Minister Ishiba called the situation a “quiet emergency”, and pledged to enact family-friendly measures, like more flexible working hours in order to reverse the trend. 

Japan had 1.6 million deaths in 2024, which was 1.9% greater than 2023, according to data released by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Japan has the second oldest population in the world, after Monaco. Japan faces severe worker shortages as the population ages and fewer babies are born.

Japan's Population Falls for the 13th Straight Year

The population of Japanese nationals fell by 837,000 to 121,193,000 last year, which was the largest annual drop since this data started being kept by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.  The government has been struggling with the country's declining birthrate and rapidly aging society. 

In addition, the government forecasts single-person households to account for 44.3 percent of the 52.61 million households in Japan by 2050, with half of that being people age 65 or older. The average number of people living in a household was 2.21 in 2020 and is projected to fall to 1.99 in 2033 and 1.92 in 2050. National and local governments need to enhance support for elderly people in areas including nursing care. 

The foreign national population rose 243,000 to about 3.16 million in the last year. Foreign workers and student who had been Japan for at least 90 were counted in the overal population number.  

Of the 47 prefectures, only Tokyo saw a rise in population.

Rising Elderly Nursing Costs

Japanese people are among the longest living people on the planet. With people living longer, more elderly care is needed.

According to statistics on long-term care benefit expenditures for fiscal 2022, the cost of resident nursing care services increased 158.6 billion yen year on year to 10.9 trillion yen. Preventive care for those with less serious conditions rose by 3.4 billion yen to 283.1 billion.

The average annual cost per care recipient was 203,100 yen, an increase of 3,500 yen. The average cost of preventative care for those not requiring resident care was 27,900 yen. (source - Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare)

By prefecture, the highest average expenditure was 223,700 yen in Tottori, followed by 216,100 yen in Okinawa, and 216,100 yen in Ishikawa. In fiscal 2022, the total number of those requiring resident nursing care rose by 123,000 year on year or 2.2%. 

The number of recipients of nursing care or home support as of April 2023 was 7.2 million, and increase of 60,000 year on year. The number recieving resident nursing care in that same time was 5.5 million, a year on year increase of 100,000.  Women outnumber men at 3.8 million to 1.7 million.  In-home support services recipients were the largest number of users (3.9 million), equipment rental (2.8 million), outpatient day care (1.6 million), and home visits (also 1.6 million).

Japan's mandatory LTCI (Long Term Care Insurance), that every person 40 and over into, was started in 2000. The amount of the premium is based on income. Everyone, regardless of income, has the same benefits. Benefits can be accessed starting at age 65 and all services require a 10% co-pay. 

I imagine elderly care is expensive everywhere, but I wonder about how other countries compare with Japan.

Japanese Minimum Wage

 

The Japanese Labor Ministry agreed last week to target an average of 1002 yen per hour this fiscal year. While each prefecture sets its own minimum wage, the plan would bring the national average to above 1000 yen for the first time, with the government hoping higher pay will encourage consumption and economic growth. (The minimum hourly wage in the prefecture I live in has been 944 yen since October 2022.)

This change would drive up wages in the service industry, which faces  a constant labor shortage. The new rates are expected to be adopted around October. The government has sought to raise the average minimum wage of 1000 yen since the mid-2010's, but smaller companies have resisted, claiming to lack the resources to offer higher hourly wages. 

Other countries have recently put more dramatic wage hikes in place to counter inflation.  Romania raised its minimum wage by 17.6% in January; Australia by 8.7% in July; and Turkey, where inflation is over 15%, raised the minimum wage by by 34%. 

What is the minimum wage where you live? Do you think it is enough or should it be higher?

Population Decline in Japan

According to a Japanese government report released last week, Japan's population dropped in all 47 prefectures for the first time last year, while the number of foreign residents hit a new high of almost three million people. 

The number of Japanese nationals fell about 800,000 people, or 0.65% to 122.4 million in 2022, from the previous year. According to data from the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, this is the 14th straight year for the decrease. The overall population of Japan was 125.41 million, down about half a million people from the previous year. The number of foreign residents with addresses registered in Japan went up by 10.7%. The foreign population increase was the largest year on year rise since these statistics started in 2013. Foreign residents are now about 2.4% of Japan's total population. 

Many people conclude the population will continue to decrease because of the declining birthrate in the country.  Last year was a record low, with only 771,801 births in Japan. 

Is the population increasing or decreasing in the country where you live?

Crime in Japan - Postwar Low

The National Police Agency reports the number of crimes in 2021 decreased by 7.5% from the year before to 568,148, setting a new post war record for the seventh consecutive year.  

Criminal offenses peaked in 2002 and have decreased steadily since then. Street crime and burglaries decreased the last two years during the pandemic as people were staying home more.  Fraud cases, especially with the elderly have increased. 

The overall arrest rate for criminal offenses was 46.6%, but for major crimes, including murder and robbery, it was 93.4%.  The chart looks like murder arrests is 100% or very close to that. How amazing is that? Bicycle thieves are not apprehended much, it appears.  

What do you think about crime where you live? Do you feel like police are doing their jobs well, or are they overworked? 

Record Low Number of Children in Japan

After falling for forty years, Japan's child population hit a new record low.  As of April 1, 2021, the number of children age 14 and younger was 14.93 million.  This is 190,000 fewer than last year. In Japan there are 7.65 million boys and 7.28 girls.  The child population in Japan peaked in 1954, at 29.89 million.  It briefly picked up in the early 1970's but has fallen continuously since 1982.  

The senior population (age 65 and older) has been greater than the child population since 1995. According to the 2019 United Nations population estimates, Japan has the lowest child population ratio of 33 countries with more than 40 million citizens.  

The number of children in future years is expected to get even lower.  In 2020, there were only 840,832 births in Japan according to the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. This was a new record low. The number of marriages in the country, 525,490, also hit a low not seen since the end of World War II.

Minimum Wage

Since 2009, the federal minimum wage in the United States has been $7.25, which works out to about $15,000 a year for a 40 hour work week. The Democrats are currently working to raise the federal minimum wage to $15.00 an hour and are meeting opposition. ( Some states have a higher than $7.25 minimum wage.) 

This had me wondering about the minimum wage standards in Japan. According to wageindicator.org, which says it is valid as of February 2021, the prefectures with the highest minimum wage (and the only two over 1000 JPY an hour) are Tokyo and Kanagawa at 1013 JPY and 1011 JPY per hour, less than $9.60 in USD at today's exchange rate. Quite a few prefectures list 790 JPY (about $7.46) as their minimum, so that might be the federal minimum also. In my prefecture, Shizuoka, the minimum is 885 JPY, or about $8.36.  

What is the minimum wage where you live? Is it enough, or do you think it should be higher?