Japan population crisis: Nation faces shortage of candidates for local elections

Japan is facing a crisis due to the significant decline in its population, which even prompted the government to issue a dire warning over the falling birth rate and also planned to set up an agency to focus on the issue.

The latest report by Nikkei Asia further elaborated on the impact of the decline in population as it was mentioned that there is a shortage of candidates for local elections being held across the country on Saturday.

Governors in nine prefectures, mayors in six major cities, and assembly members in 41 prefectures and 17 large cities will get elected by voters through the poll.

The reports also mentioned that candidates were running uncontested in about 40 per cent of nearly 1,000 districts. About 25 per cent in total, 565 candidates, were running against no opponent in prefectural assemblies in the vote.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications also revealed that in 348 electoral districts, about 40% of the total candidates will be running.

On April 23, the voters will choose mayors and assembly members of Tokyo's wards, smaller cities, towns and villages in the second round of elections.

A recent reportnoted that Japan recorded fewer than 800,000 births last year, the lowest in the country of 125 million since records began.

Several social factors are contributing to the low birth rate, such as a high cost of living in the country, limited space and lack of childcare support in cities are also making it difficult to raise kids. And experts believe the declining birth rate is a complex problem with numerous roots.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had warned the trend threatens "whether we can continue to function as a society", and a fresh focus on the issue has sparked countless articles.

As quoted by Nikkei Asia, Hiroshi Shimada, a candidate in the race in the central Japanese city said in early March, said: "I could not let the mayoral election in Hamamatsu, a government-designated city, go uncontested."

Matsui said, "In prefectural assemblies, the appeal of local politics is not communicated to the general public, making it difficult for young people to be attracted to become a candidate."

Matsui said also noted that solutions are not easy to find, but argued that "reviewing corporate rules to make it easier to work concurrently as council members could be helpful".

"Reducing the number of seats is also a natural way of thinking," Matsui added.

Unmarried people under 30 don't want kids

A recent survey showed that around half (49.4 per cent) of unmarried people under 30 in Japan are not interested in having children, citing economic concerns. The survey has been conducted by a pharmaceutical firm of 400 respondents between 18 to 29 years old.

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