Multipolar Concentration: A Key to Sustainability for Japan

"Will Japan be sustainable in 2050?" Our research group adopted this question as the starting point to conduct simulations of the future of Japanese society, using artificial intelligence to develop policy proposals. Figure 1 shows Japan's long-term population trends. The population rose sharply from the start of the Meiji era (1868–1912), peaking in 2008 before switching into decline. If the birthrate remains around the present rate (1.42% in 2018), Japan's population is expected to fall below 100 million after 2050, and to continue to decline thereafter.