Hiroya MASUDA

Vice Chair, Population Strategy Council of Japan / Author, "Rural Depopulation" (The Masuda Report)

Hiroya MASUDA
Times of the Remarks 2024. 11. 12. 09:15-09:35
Title Keynote Speech 2 - Responding to Population Decline Ten Years On from the Publication of "Municipalities at Risk of Extinction"

Hiroya MASUDA, former Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, is known for having led the writing of the 2014 report titled “Rural Depopulation,” also known as the Masuda Report. The report, which identified 896 cities in Japan as being at risk of extinction, sent shockwaves through Japanese society upon its publication, in what came to be described as “the Masuda shock.” Today, Mr. Masuda serves as the vice chair of the Population Strategy Council, a private think tank created to mark the 10th anniversary of the publication of the Masuda Report. The Population Strategy Council formulated “Population Vision 2100,” a report that sets a target for Japan to grow its population to 80 million by 2100, and presented it directly to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Formerly a three-term governor of Iwate Prefecture and Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications (an office similar to the former Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs of Korea), Mr. Masuda is Japan’s leading population expert. He is currently President and CEO of Japan Post Co., Ltd.


[Session Title and Description]

Responding to Population Decline Ten Years On from the Publication of "Municipalities at Risk of Extinction"

In May 2014, the Japan Policy Council, a private think tank, shocked the nation by publishing a list of Japanese “cities at risk of extinction” that included roughly half of the country’s municipalities. Ten years later, in January of this year, the Population Strategy Council of Japan, a group of population experts, proposed “Population Vision 2100,” a population strategy based on an examination of population measures taken to date and the current status of Japan’s population. In April, the Population Strategy Council released a report on the sustainability of the country’s municipalities based on an analysis of recent population trends, once again calling attention to the importance of the population issue within Japanese society. This session will offer analysis and commentary on Japan’s present population problem delivered firsthand by the former Chairman of the Japan Policy Council and Vice Chair of the Population Strategy Council of Japan, who was responsible for writing the reports put out by both of these bodies. He will share ideas and real-life examples as he explores a range of measures to address population decline, including not only measures to address population decline due to natural factors (decline in births) and social factors (depopulation) but also alternative approaches.