Aging population, vacant dwellings and the compatibility problem between human and exosomatic populations

Abstract

The long average lifespan in Japan is the most devastating cause of an aging population. Yet, there are other crucial causes that work to accelerate the situation of Japan’s aging population. This chapter considers the socioeconomic factors of the aging population of Japan and the rapid increase of vacant dwellings as a compatibility problem between human population and exosomatic population. This chapter first discusses three crucial drivers of the rapidly aging population in Japan, i.e. late marriage, the decreasing average birth rate and the increasing cost of raising children. A detailed socioeconomic analysis of the decreasing average number of children per married couple is also provided. Because of the aging population structure and the decreasing size of the population, the stable relation between aging human population and exosomatic population is losing its balance. Increasing vacant dwellings is one problem that has been seen to emerge. So, this chapter discusses various socioeconomic issues associated with vacant dwellings in Japan. Three types of vacant dwellings, i.e. vacant rental dwellings, vacant condominiums and vacant private dwellings, are examined together with their associated problems. Among the most crucial issues associated with vacant dwellings is an increasing number of households with only one single elderly and one single elderly couple. This chapter concludes with a discussion of the financial problems of Japan Railway (JR) in the Shikoku and Hokkaido regions. Maintaining a minimum transportation service is necessary for each citizen, yet, due to depopulation and inherent economic disadvantage, the JRs of Shikoku and Hokkaido are in financial trouble. In fact, this problem is nothing but the problem of compatibility between human population and exosomatic population. The conclusion section of this chapter also considers possible ways of mitigating the aging population structure of Japan.