Japanese nappy makers might soon stop manufacturing baby nappies and switch to adult diapers as they face huge loss owing to the country’s declining birth rates.
In light of the country’s aging population and falling birth rates, a Japanese diaper maker declared that it would stop producing infant diapers and concentrate on the adult market. Oji Holdings cited the trend of adult diaper sales outpacing those of infants.
Japan’s Baby Diaper Brands Shift To Adult Diapers
According to Japan’s top diaper manufacturer UnicharmIn, in 2011 adult diaper sales surpassed baby diaper sales. With about 30 percent of the population over 65, Japan has one of the oldest populations in the world, and the adult diaper business is estimated to be worth over $2 billion.
With 758,631 births last year, Japan had the fewest births since the 19th century and faces a 5.1% decline from last year. According to the BBC, Oji Nepia, a subsidiary of Oji Holdings, which used to produce 700 million in 2001, dropped to 400 million baby diapers a year. Oji Holdings plans to keep producing diapers in Malaysia and Indonesia, but in Japan, they are struggling with the effects of an aging population and declining birth rates. There has not been much progress in the government’s attempts to increase birth rates through child-related initiatives and financial aid for newlyweds.
Asian countries are facing demographic issues due to several factors such as decreased marriage rates, an increase in the number of women entering the workforce, and growing child-rearing expenditures. Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, expressed concern about the social ramifications and said the country is on the brink of collapse as a society.
Other East Asian nations that have dropping birth rates, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea, share Japan’s reproductive challenges. According to official figures released in September of last year, over 10 percent of Japanese citizens have reached the age of 80 or older for the first time.
According to available government data, Japan’s population of 65 years or older increased from 29.0 percent to a record 29.1 percent a year ago. Japan’s internal affairs ministry has said that the percentage was lower than that of Finland (23.6%), which was rated third, and Italy (24.5%), which was ranked second. Japan’s population has been aging and shrinking for decades as young people put off getting married and starting families, mostly because of precarious employment and financial hardships. According to the ministry, Japan has the highest number of elderly people in the world.
Elderly care in Japan has skyrocketing due to a decline in the number of young people to fill jobs and spend on social and welfare programs. The baby boomer population turning 75 or older develops concerns among the government and the people. Japan’s population of 124.4 million is continuing to age, with about 12.59 million being 80 years of age or older and 20 million being 75 years of age or older.
Asian Countries Are Spending To Tackle Low Birth Rates.
The declining birth rate is a serious problem for several large economies in Asia. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent by regional governments to buck the trend.
In the 1990s, Japan started enacting laws to encourage couples to have more kids. In the 2000s, South Korea began to follow suit, while Singapore’s first fertility policy was implemented in 1987.
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China recently joined the growing club, having seen its population decline for the first time in 60 years. Although the precise cost of these measures is hard to estimate, Yoon Suk-yeol, President of South Korea, recently stated that his nation has spent more than $200 billion (£160 billion) in the last 16 years attempting to increase the population.
According to the most recent United Nations data, while more nations are attempting to reduce birth rates globally, the number of nations seeking to raise fertility has tripled since 1976.