Imploding populations in Japan and Germany : a comparison Population implosion : coping with the unknown Florian Coulmas and Ralph Lutzeler Confronting the demographic trilemma of low fertility ageing and depopulation Shigemi Kono Europes demographic future Reiner Klingholz Flexible employment flexible families and the socialization of reproduction Wolfgang Streeck Economic globalization and changes in family formation as the cause of very low fertility in Japan Shigesato Takahashi Income inequality in a rapidly ageing society Japan : focusing on transformations in the structure of households with elderly Sawako Shirahase Ageing societies : present challenges and models for the future Gertrud M. Backes Japanese family policies in comparative perspective Makoto Atoh Promoting gender equality birthrates or human capital Germany Japan and family policy discourse Martin Seeleib Kaiser and Tuukka Toivonen Child care and work life balance in low fertility Japan Barbara G. Holthus Actors of social policy making in Japan : a look at the individual level Axel Klein Growing up in a shrinking city : the impact of residential segregation on the qualitative reproduction of urban society Klaus Peter Strohmeier Business implications of demographic change in Japan : chances and challenges for human resource and marketing management Florian Kohlbacher Silver employment in Germany : trends and consequences for the management of an ageing workforce Christiane Hipp and Birgit Verworn New housing options for the elderly in Japan : the example of Tokyos Edogawa Ward Maren Godzik The political economy of health care migration : a Japanese perspective Gabriele Vogt Care for the elderly and demographic change : ageing and migrant nurses in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia Jens Friebe The power of address : age and gender in Japanese eldercare communication Peter Backhaus Japans adult guardianship system : statutory guardianship and civil guardians Junko Ando Japans adult guardianship law : current status and issues Makoto Arai Demographic change and challenges from a regional perspective : the case of Germany Franz Josef Kemper Recent in migration to peripheral regions of Japan in the context of incipient national population decline Yoshitaka Ishikawa Rural depopulation and economic shrinkage in Japan : what can affected municipalities do about it Volker Elis Demographic economic and institutional shrinkage from the perspective of rural areas in Germany Stephan Beetz Left behind in the global city : spaces and places of ageing and shrinking in the Tokyo metropolitan area Ralph Lutzeler Verlagsinfo: This book provides a comprehensive overview of the impact of low birth rates and population decline on Japan and Germany. Experts from both countries examine a broad range of issues from demographic change social ageing family policies family formation work life balance domestic and international migration to business perspectives and labour market issues. Focussed on Japan and Germany two highly developed countries with extremely low fertility the chapters of this volume also refer to several other countries for comparison. In the absence of war famine and pandemics rapid population decline is a new phenomenon. Japan and Germany are struggling with this reality but many other countries will follow their example.