維持１億人口戦略視野、正式決定

A few weeks ago the Yomiuri News on-line reported the following:

人口１億人維持へのビジョンと戦略、正式決定

2014年12月27日 21時32分

　政府は２７日の臨時閣議で、地方創生の方針や人口減対策を盛り込んだ「長期ビジョン」と、２０２０年までの数値目標を示した「総合戦略」を正式決定した。

　目標とする「５０年後に１億人程度の人口維持」実現に向け、国と地方の取り組みが本格的に動き出す。

　総合戦略は「東京圏への転入超過を解消する」ことを当面の目標に、地方への企業移転を促す税制優遇、農林水産業の成長産業化などにより地方で若者の雇用を３０万人創出するとした。東京圏転入を１３年比で年６万人減少させ、転出を４万人増やすことも目指す。

　長期ビジョンでは、若い世代が希望通りに結婚・出産できれば、合計特殊出生率（１３年は１・４３）は１・８程度に上昇するとした。３０～４０年頃に人口が一定となる「人口置換水準」の２・０７まで出生率を回復させれば、６０年には１億人程度の人口を維持できるとした。

(試譯文)

In a special cabinet meeting held on the 27th (December), the "Long term vision" which incorporated both the policy on measure to deal with population decrease and the direction on local rejuvenation, together with the "Integrated strategy" that indicated the numerical target up to 2020, were formally decided by the government.

Towards realizing the target of “maintaining the population at about 100 million 50 years from now", both the national and local initiatives had begun in earnest.

     On "Integrated strategy", about the present target "to rid the excess of moving into Tokyo area", it would create employment for 300,000 young people in local areas by favorable tax treatments to prompt enterprise to move into local areas, and also by industrializing the growth in agriculture, forestry and fishing. The aim was to reduce 60,000 people moving into in the metropolitan Tokyo compared to the 2013 figure, and to increase the transfer out by 40,000 people.

     On “Long term vision”, if the younger generation could get married and give birth as hoped, it was assumed that the consolidated special birthrate (1.43 in 2013) would rise to 1.8. By around 2030-40, if the stable population rate: the "population substitution standard" birthrate could reach 2.07 again, it was possible that by 2060 the population of about 100 million people could be maintained.

Population decrease is always a problem that the Japanese government has to deal with.