The Challenges Facing Young People in Japan
Monday, November 25, 2024 | 12:45 – 1:45 PM (Lunch will be provided)
Room 640, Geffen Hall, Columbia Business School

Featuring: Randall S. Jones, Research Associate, Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB), Columbia Business School; Adjunct Professor, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS); Former Senior Counselor – East Asia and Head of Japan/Korea Desk, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

Moderator: David E. Weinstein, Director, CJEB; Carl S. Shoup Professor of the Japanese Economy, Columbia University

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Topics to be discussed:

1. Students face intense pressure from a young age. In the 2015 OECD PISA study, the share of 15-year-olds in Japan reporting high life satisfaction was the second-lowest among OECD countries.

2. Economic challenges prevent many couples from having their desired number of children, making it difficult to reverse the decline in Japan’s total fertility rate, which has fallen to a record low of 1.2.

3. Japan has a significant gender wage gap and one of the lowest shares of women in management positions, reflecting labor market dualism and discrimination.

4. The shrinking population and rising share of elderly in Japan places a substantial burden on young people, who will bear much of the fiscal costs of increasing expenditures on pensions and health and long-term care.