Can Japan Survive Its Demographic Crisis? | Samo Burja

Today on Moment of Zen is a conversation I had with Samo Burja back in January 2024 on Japan's existential demographic crisis, analyzing how collapsing fertility rates and population aging threaten the nation's economic and geopolitical future. The discussion explores cultural barriers to family formation, automation limitations, and Japan's dilemma between preserving identity versus accepting transformative change. Make sure to subscribe to Samo Burja's Bismarck Brief and the Live Players podcast to read analyses and briefs like this one: Bismarck Brief: https://brief.bismarckanalysis.com/ Live Players: https://link.chtbl.com/liveplayers -- 📰 Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess  🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse -- SPONSORS: NETSUITE | SHOPIFY | ADQUICK | Over 41,000 businesses trust NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud ERP, to future-proof their operations. Whether you're earning millions or hundreds of millions, NetSuite empowers you to tackle challenges and seize opportunities. Download the free CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at https://netsuite.com/zen. Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform, offering a market-leading checkout system Shoppay and exclusive AI apps. Nobody does selling better than Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial at https://shopify.com/momentofzen. The easiest way to book out-of-home ads (like billboards, vehicle wraps, and airport displays) the same way you would order an Uber. Ready to get your brand the attention it deserves? Visit https://adquick.com/ today to start reaching your customers in the real world. Head to Squad to access global engineering without the headache and at a fraction of the cost: head to https://choosesquad.com/ and mention “Turpentine” to skip the waitlist. -- X / TWITTER: @SamoBurja @eriktorenberg @turpentinemedia -- HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DISCUSSION: Demographic Crisis Fertility rate collapsed to 1.3 - population shrinking from 125M to 50M this century Aging dependency ratio crushing economy - fewer workers supporting more elderly Young people may emigrate if decline accelerates Cultural Challenges Work vs. family contradiction - salaryman culture prioritizes career over children Proposed solution: Require executives to have 2+ kids 97% ethnic homogeneity creates social cohesion but limits immigration options Economic Implications Automation needs scale - fewer people makes it less effective Japan's productivity gains vanish when controlling for aging Risk of economic tailspin and brain drain Military Transformation From pacifist to military power - world-class navy, converting carriers for F-35Bs Nuclear weapons ready - space program + plutonium = "some assembly required" Key player in Taiwan scenarios Geopolitical Positioning Economically tied to China, security-wise allied with US Will stay politically independent from China due to nationalism Would go nuclear if US withdraws from East Asia Japan must choose: Maintain cultural identity and accept economic decline, or transform through immigration to stay economically viable. Currently choosing the former while hoping automation saves them.