Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

At the present time, in the search for growth opportunities many Japanese companies are making forays into developing markets, with China being the prime example. In looking at developments since the Lehman Shock of 2008, while the progress of economic recovery in advanced countries has been feeble, the recovery in developing countries has been strong (Kwan 2010). For this reason, it is easy to understand why companies are with one accord heading into these enormous markets. But, considering that the world will sooner or later be saddled with the same problems as Japan, it is necessary to think about how long the rapid growth of the developing world will continue.

In Chap. 1, we considered demand by roughly classifying it into two types: “diffusive demand” and “creative demand.”

Next let us consider the second paradigm—“The Limited Earth.” The problems caused by the fact that the Earth is limited are far-reaching. These include not only energy, resources, global warming, air pollution, water pollution, ground pollution, food, and water, but also—if we think broadly—such problems as the widescale spread of infectious diseases of people and livestock. The reason is that the probability of virus mutation and transmission increases along with the probability that wild animals come into contact with livestock, livestock with other livestock, humans with livestock, and so on. And in turn, the probability of contact on the limited surface of the Earth increases in proportion to the square of the population density.

Currently, many Japanese companies are looking for growth opportunities in developing countries. If a saturation of man-made objects is to occur globally in the not-too-distant future, as we discussed in Chap. 1, how should Japan act?

Japan is faced with a society that is aging at a rate that is unprecedented in any country. In 2006, people aged 65 and over represented about 21 % of Japan’s population, while they are expected to account for 30 % in 2025 and 40 % in 2050 (Cabinet Office Japan 2010). The populations of China and India are expected to reach their peaks in the mid-2030s and by the end of 2050, respectively. That is, all countries will face aging societies by 2050.

In the preceding chapters, I have discussed problems arising from new paradigms of the twenty-first century—“exploding knowledge,” “limited Earth,” and “aging society”—and how to cope with them. Japan is, a problem-saddled advanced country, already faced with a wide range of problems arising in connection with these paradigms. Japan is in the vanguard of what other advanced industrialized countries can soon expect to face.