I was randomly flicking through the Proceedings of the Japan Academy - you know, the way people do - and found an article called "Adult Guardian System and Protection of the Elderly." It quotes a recent senryuu poem by someone called "Kano" as a suggestion to the aging population problem:
年寄りは 死んで下さい 国のため
"Old people! Please die. For the sake of the country."
21% of the population of Japan is elderly, with 65% paying for their upkeep. Soon it's going to be 2 dependents for every three workers. Since this isn't a particularly great way to have a working economy, the Japanese national budget is going to try to have to control its spending on social welfare. And then those old people may have to die off - for the sake of the country.
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