## Chapter 2 Promoting sustainable, vigorous development of the national land and regions

As stated in the previous chapter, certain changes in policies by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism have been made in response to reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake. On the other hand, the Ministry has been responding to changes in the social and economic structure, such as declining population, aging society, financial restrictions, and intensifying international competition, which existed before the Earthquake. From now on, how to advance the promotion of sustainable, vigorous development of the national land and regions, combining the restrictions existing before the Earthquake and the changes in policies this time will be examined.

“Sustainable” mentioned here, in general, refers to “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” as stated in the World Commission on Environment and Development/Brundtland Commission (1987).

National land and regions need to be developed by closely examining what kind of national land and regions we should preserve for the next generation, adding changes in policies generated through the post-earthquake reconstruction.

This chapter indicates the current status, issues, and future directions regarding the promotion of sustainable, vigorous development of the national land and regions.

## Section 1 Current status and issues regarding the promotion of sustainable, vigorous development of the national land and regions

## 1 Declining population, aging population, and population migration

The total population of Japan began decreasing after peaking at 128.08 million in 2008. The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research has estimated the population will decrease to 99.13 million, falling below 100 million, and furthermore, it will decrease to 86.74 million (a decrease of 41.32 million) by 2060. In addition, the ratio of the aging population (percentage of population aged 65 and over) is estimated to increase to 39.9% by 2060, rising from 23.0% in 2010. Japan is facing an unprecedented super-aging society.

The ratio of the aged in Japan is at an incomparably high level by international standards. When compared with Western countries, it is found that the aged ratio of Japan is at the highest level and the speed of aging is extremely high. When compared with Asian countries, the growth of the aged ratio during the estimation period is faster in other countries, including South Korea, but the aged ratio of Japan is still the highest, exceeding other countries.

Note: 1 "Child population" refers to the "Population aged 0–14," "Productive-age population" refers to "Population aged 15–64," and "Aged population" refers to "Population aged 65+."

2 Figures in parentheses refer to the shares of Child population, Productive-age population, and Aged population in the Total population, respectively.

Source: Developed by MLIT, from "Population Census (persons whose ages were unknown were distributed proportionately among the known people's ages)" and "Population Estimates" prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and estimated value projected on the median birth (median death) reported in the "Population Projections for Japan (estimated value of January 2012)" prepared by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research