In Japan, a low birth rate and aging of the population are causing the working-age population – those aged between 15 and 64 – to contract dramatically. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC)2, Japan's working age population as of October 1, 2021, was 74,504,000, down 584,000 from the previous year. This came to 59.4% of the total population – the smallest it has ever been. And the trend is expected to accelerate. Contraction of the working age population affects society in a number of ways, the biggest concern being potential economic decline due to a shortage of workers. Government and corporations have driven efforts in recent years to grow the number of workers by creating better working environments for women and the elderly, but it is essential that the labor force gets an even bigger boost now in the face of quickening contraction of the available population.