...and sadly, the Japanese will probably not succeed in reversing demographic decline. There is very little evidence that any country has successfully reversed

...and sadly, the Japanese will probably not succeed in reversing demographic decline. There is very little evidence that any country has successfully reversed this trend once it gets going. Maybe only Ceausescu Romania can point to government policy actually having an impact, and he did it by not only banning abortion but also contraception (correct me if I am wrong here please), of course then leading the Romanian orphan crisis of the 1980's. It seems it requires some sort of external catastrophe - war or famine or similar - which resets society such that having kids becomes a good idea again