When I look at projections for Japan what I see is over the next 20 years the percentage of people over 65 goes from 28% to 38%. And then just stays there. So

When I look at projections for Japan what I see is over the next 20 years the percentage of people over 65 goes from 28% to 38%. And then just stays there. So the end point is 1 out of 2.5 people are retirement age or more likely doing light work. And one out eight are children or teenagers. If you go back to the high population growth years you can probably swap the percentages of children vs elderly. Leaving you with 50% of the population in the workforce. Society certainly didn't exactly fall apart then.