Assuming that Japan will be better with more people is also fundamentally wrong. Many of the things we hate about the quality of our lives right now are caused or exacerbated by overpopulation. People don’t want more traffic, less space, more pollution, stressed nature areas, more competition.
Congestion in Japan on trains is much better than it was in 1970. But you’re making a philosophical argument that I think most people just don’t agree with given what politicians end up prioritizing.
You’re making the ultimate statement of faith: growth is always good and necessary. It’s neither, to live well. We do a lot of damage by assuming that everywhere needs to grow all the time. Japan will be a wealthy and successful nation in 50 years, in a hundred, even without 20th century pop growth.
I didn’t say growth was always good or necessary. I said it was the revealed preference of the public, which I think is much more interesting than my opinion.
You think that most Japanese people want their nation to be more crowded? Yeah, I’d love to see the data on that.
I mean they keep moving to the most crowded place in Japan (greater Tokyo) so it certainly seems that crowding and congestion are positively associated with desirability in Japan. Meanwhile the least crowded areas continue to lose people n
Japan with a 1970 population, or a 1950 population, doesn’t mean Japan with a 1950 economy, but it does mean less of the stressors that can cause so much of the malaise of modern life. Being obsessed with growth is exhausting.
Having a sustainable economy with a good quality of life should be the goal. Not outdoing the nation-state Joneses.