Worry: "Global Aging" not Global Warming

[Taro Toporific]

Gee, I feel old . . .

Global ageing edges world to brink of crisis

The world stands on the brink of a crisis with old people likely to outnumber the young sooner than anyone thinks, fewer babies born and pension costs soaring as economies slow, a population expert [Richard Jackson ] said on Monday...

...He painted a picture of a world within just 20 years in which European economies had not grown for a decade and Japan, the world's largest debtor, has to ask the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout -- and is turned down by, yes, China.

Zen begging bowl

[stuckinkysuhu]

These screaming banshee theories have been popular throughout history. Who can forget how in the 70s we predicted that the industrialized nations would be brought to their knees...when the world ran out of oil in the year 2000. etc... etc... Next its China refusing to bail out Japan I see. Let's all start saving now.

[Taro Toporific]

These screaming banshee theories have been popular throughout history.

Ah, but it's great way to make money in book sales. It's a possible scenero with the refuse-to-anything-to-save-themselves-from-themselves attitude in Japanese have now. Maybe the "screaming banshees" are of some value.

Loss of face seems to be the only way to motivate Japan, for example, the Internet.

Japan was a sleepy Internet backwater and NTT cash-cow for Internet connections until just three years ago. Then Korea reformed its Internet policies with government-helped broadband programs and became Number 1 in Asia and top contender in the world. The thought of Korea being far more advanced than Japan, finally caused the Japanese government to get "religion" of broadband. Now Japanese ADSL is the cheapest on the planet.

Here's the big question: "Do ya think Japan can reform?"

Japan's "lost decade" is turning 13 years old next month.

[American Oyaji]

I was wondering what happened.

3 years ago, they were pushing ISDN like it was crack.

But the rest of the world had stopped using it for the most part.