Japan’s Population Patterns
By Julie Marek
Grade Level: Designed: 8th Grade World Geography
Adaptable: 5th to 12th Grade Social Studies
Standards:
National Geography Standards:
Standard 1: How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire,
process, and report information.
Standard 18: To apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future
Nevada Social Studies Standards: G7.0 Human Systems and E9.0 The Market Economy
G7. 1: Describe characteristics of developing and developed countries using demographic concepts.
G7. 5: Identify a regional or international economic issue and explain it from a spatial perspective.
E9. 1: Discuss choices made by individuals including the concepts of opportunity cost and total benefit.
E9. 4: Discuss career paths considering: Specific skills required, wages, impact of skill on wages.
Objective:
Students will use data charts to look at Japan’s current population and future population projections.
Students will address the issues faced by Japan with its current population trends.
Students will make predictions about Japan’s future.
Students will create realistic action plans to correct issues they predict Japan will face.
Students will read about a unique solution tying in current population and economic issues in Japan.
Warm-Up
Students will start by looking at the map of Japan to become acquainted with Japans location in the world.
See Power Point – Japan Demographic Data
Guiding Questions: Map of Japan
Map of Japan (Used to help students look at Japan from a geographical perspective)
1. What are the countries nearest to Japan? (Russia, South Korea)
2. List the four large islands that make up the majority of Japan. (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu)
3. Create a list of the major cities in Japan. ( Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima,
Nagasaki, Sendai)
4. Which island of Japan would have the highest population density and cite evidence from the maps that
you used for this decision. (Honshu, largest island, multiple cities, and students might recognize Tokyo
as an urban area.)
Japan Demographic Data Charts
Students will then look at the various informational data charts showing the demographics of Japan. This
should to get an overall view of Japan based on demographic data. Students will need to be guided using the
questions and data charts so they can see the issues Japan faces in the area of population and economy
See Power Point – Japan Demographic Data
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5-1 Population, Density, and Land Area
5-4 Marriage and Divorce Rates
5-5 Total Fertility Rate
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5-6 Average Life Expectancy at Birth
5-7 Population Aged 65 and Over
5-8 Projected 2051 Population- Japan
All information data tables come from Japan 2012 An international comparison Keisai Koho Center Japan
Institute for Social and Economic Affairs. Actual booklets can be purchased at the following web site.
 http://www.kkc.or.jp/english/activities/inform.html#
Guiding Questions: Japan Data Chart Power Point
5-1 Population, Density, and Land Area (Used to gain an overview of population and land area)
1. What is the title of data chart 5-1? (Population, Density and Land Area)
2. What is Japan’s estimated population for 2011 and 2050? (126,497,000 and 108,549,000 chart in 1,000s)
3. What is the percentage (%) of population change from 2015 to 2030 and 2030 to 2050? (-4.6 and -9.7)
4. Make a future prediction for Japan’s percentage (%) of population change for the year 2050 to 2075. (Since
the percent of change has doubled from 2015 to 2050 students should still predict that the number will
grow in the negative direction.)
5-4 Marriage and Divorce Rates (Used to discuss changes in culture over time)
1. What are the 3 years that are measured in this data chart? (1995, 2005, 2008)
2. Looking specifically at Japan what is the percent of change in marriages from 1995 to 2008? What was the
percent of change in the divorce rate in Japan from 1995 to 2008? (Marriages in Japan decreased 0.5%
while divorcees increased 0.4% from 1995 to 2008)
3. If this data table were to continue to the year 2020 what would be your predictions for marriage and
divorce rates for Japan? (Marriages will continue to decrease and eventually level off to a consistent
number. Divorce rates should show and increase until these rates level off. An example on the chart
would be the European countries.)
5-5 Total Fertility Rate (Used to introduce current population trend and future issues)
1. What is the title of the data chart 5-5? What does the title mean in your own words? (Total Fertility Rate.
Fertility is the birthrate/ growth rate of a population.)
2. What years does this data chart examine? (1950-1955, 2005-2010, 2045-2050, 2009)
3. Looking at the years on this data chart which column has information not based on actual collected data?
(2045-2050 has predictions of fertility rates.)
4. Looking at the column titled Japan Eras of Significance do you think that the predicted fertility rate for
2045-2050 is an accurate projection? Support your answer with information in this data chart. (may vary)
5-6 Average Life Expectancy at Birth (Used to look at specific details for future issues)
1. What is the current average life expectancy for both males and females in Japan? (Average life expectancy
for Japan is Males at 79.3 years and Females 86.1 years.)
2. How does Japan’s average life expectancy compare to the other countries in this data chart? (Japan is the
highest not only currently in 200-2010 but also projected to be the highest in 2045-2050.)
3. How will Japan’s ranking with the highest average life expectancy affect the economics for the country of
Japan? (Economically- More health care cost, geriatric care facilities, longer retirement salaries, )
5-7 Population Aged 65 and Over (Used to look at future issues with elderly population expansion)
1. The numbers in the columns are measured in percentages (%). What does this percent really mean? (the
numbers are the percentage of the population total)
2. How does Japan’s percentage (%) of population 65 and over compare to other countries over the years
shown? (1990 Japan is in the middle of the countries but by 2050 it is estimated to be the highest in 2050)
3. What is the estimated change for Japan from 1990 to the projected 2050? (In 1990, 11.9% of the total
population and in 2050, 35.6%, this is a growth of 23.7% more population in the elderly category)
4. What future problems do you predict for a country with this this high percentage of population 65 and
over? (Cost, care, medical)
5-8 Projected 2051 Population- Japan (Used to breakdown of workers need to sustain a society financially)
1. This is Japan’s projected population pyramid for what years? (2011, 2051)
2. What year and population are represented by the left side of the population pyramid? (2011, 126.9 million
persons)
3. What year and population are represented by the right side of the population pyramid? (2051, 94.1 million
persons)
4. What are the ages that separate the color categories from each other? Why are these age groups
significant? (65 years old, traditionally the age of retirement and 15, traditionally when individuals enter in
to the work force, under the age 15 are traditionally still dependents)
5. According to the Japan population pyramid what is the percentage of working age individuals in 2011 and
in 2051? (In 2011, 63.8% are working age, 2051 only 51.6% are working age)
6. Predict future issues that Japan faces and cite evidence to support your answer from the population
pyramid. (Low birth rate means an even smaller working class in the future, larger elderly class means
higher expensed placed on working class, older retirement ages, less human labor for Japan to rely on)
Student created resolutions:
By completing the guiding questions using the Japan data chart power point, students should begin to see
issues in population and economic stability in Japan’s future. Students may still need to have a brief discussion
about what are some of the issues the regression of population can have on any country. This discussion may
need to help students see connections between the data charts and guide them toward the issues of
population and economy. You may choose to include in the discussion how Japan’s economy will also be
affected by the lack of workers in the labor force as the population continues to decline. Create a connection
to the Population Pyramid for 2051 (5-8) showing students how the labor force is quickly outnumbered by the
elderly and those under the age of 15. Students should be able to see how fewer individuals in the actual
working sector of society will impact any country’s economy greatly. In addition having a large elderly
population will also draw on the limited resources of the labor force within that society.
Student Action Plan:
The students will then be given the Action Plan Worksheet used to identify the issues. Students will need to fill
out the action plan worksheet by first identifying and defining the major issues facing Japan in the categories
of population and economy. Students will then try to come up with steps to implement to help resolve the
issues they defined. Students will be required to think both in short term/immediate action steps as well as
long term steps to make sure the issue does not reoccur.
Please see Action Plan Worksheet. (Attached to the end of this lesson plan)
Current Innovative Solutions
As a closure activity to this unit looking at Japans current issues with population and economy students will
look at innovative solutions Japan has already started to implement.
Students will read the article titled “How Regulation is Strangling the Social-Services Industry” by Ishikawa,
Kazuo. This article is provided by The Tokyo Foundation.
Article “How Regulations is Strangling the Social-Services Industry” by Ishikawa, Kazuo provided by The
Tokyo Foundation at http://www.tokyofoundation.org/en/articles/2011/social-services-industry
Name:
Date:
Hour:
ACTION PLAN
Define the two major issues in your own words.
Population:
Economy:
Multistep Action Plan:
Direction: Create an action plan to help resolve the major issues that Japan faces. This action plan will need
both immediate and future steps to insure that these issues will not reoccur.
Steps to implement immediately and over the next 5 years
Population
1.
2.
3.
Economy
1.
2.
3.
Steps to implement in 10 years
Population
1.
2.
3.
Economy
1.
2.
3.
Steps to implement for sustain this situation long term
Population
1.
2.
3.
Economy
1.
2.
3.
Pick the issue you believe is the most important to address. State why you selected this problem and give
specific details to support your decision.
If no action or insufficient action is taken to correct this issue what do you predict will occur in Japan in the
next 50 years. Cite evidence to support your future prediction.