Japan's population crisis reaches tipping point | FT Film

Japan has been struggling to cope with a combination of anaemic economic growth and a shrinking population for over 30 years. 2025 marks the tipping point when the rising costs outstrip the country's capacity to pay for them. The FT's Tokyo bureau chief Leo Lewis looks at how the country has managed its slow burning demographic crisis and what the rest of the world can learn from its experience

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00:00 - Introduction
01:06 - Japan's population alarm
01:54 - Understanding the 2025 problem
02:38 - Comparing international fertility rates
03:37 - Fuwaku, the rugby club for the over 70s
05:36 - Seijin-no Hi, Japan's coming of age festival
06:17 - The link between birth rates and marriage
07:25 - Okunitama shrine and the cost of getting married
08:24 - The link between fertility and wages
10:14 - The Tokyo government's dating app
11:03 - Kiricafe and the growing number of immigrants in Japan
14:01 - Rising government spending on the elderly
15:07 - Unicharm: from baby nappies to adult diapers
16:01 - Ito En: making tea for the elderly
16:41 - House Boat Club: changing funeral traditions
17:53 - China's similar demographic path to Japan
19:10 - Is Japan's experience what success looks like?

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