How Can Japan Solve its Birthrate Problem?

Japan is shrinking. Although dutiful Japan Rail employees may still cram passengers into rush-hour trains from time to time, it’s all an illusion. From a population high of 128 million souls in 2008, Japan has already lost 5 million of that number. If current trends continue, the nation is slated to have closer to 70 million residents by 2060. And with year-on-year declines and just 800,000 babies born last year (compared with a baby-boom high of 2.7 million infants in 1949), the numbers look bleak.(15 more paragraphs)