NOTE: The reason why there are two articles from the Washington Post is one is from Reuters and the other is from the Associated Press. As such, facts from both have been woven into this post and it would be unwieldy to cite each one seperately. You’re probably going to read them both anyway.
The Japanese government reported today that people 65 and over constitute 21% of their population. They now surpass Italy (20%) as the country with the highest proportion of elderly citizens. Also reported was that only 13.6% of Japan’s population is under 15, passing Bulgaria (13.6%) for first in that category. Finally and most alarmingly, the fertility rate hit a new low of 1.25/woman. That is well below the 2.1 rate necessary to maintain a stable population.