Your harsh judgements of Japan's trajectory make assumptions that are not evidently true (to me). What do you mean, "problems with low fertility"? That looks a

Your harsh judgements of Japan's trajectory make assumptions that are not evidently true (to me). What do you mean, "problems with low fertility"? That looks a highly desirable outcome to me, a blessing in disguise. Sure, most governments run Ponzi-like schemes and depend on "exponential growth" all around to finance themselves (pensions), but that's an economic snafu. Ultimately unsustainable in any case. Not sure where this mentality of "more is always better" comes from. You could argue Japan would still be overpopulated even at half its current population. Random thought: being "extremely xenophobic" seems desirable (necessary?) for such reversal process to stand a chance. Otherwise the country would be overrun by people who simply procreate more (aka race to the bottom when it comes to quality of life). Should maximum procreation trump everything else?