The government needs people working so they pay taxes that are used for government benefits, such as retirement
Also, many people have pensions that are based on their lifetime savings, investments, etc. Not all pensions are paid from current government revenues.
The value of land is socially created. When there's no one around, no economy, etc, it's basically worthless. Japan is rapidly approaching this point. You'll be able to get cheap land if you want to be a weird hermit, but everyone else is going to continue to flood to the cities, the only places where there will remain any sort of economy.
Not really sure how or why food would get cheaper with less people. If anything the opposite as it's more expensive to make it locally with less workers available.
Less people seems worse all around to me.
>Not really sure how or why food would get cheaper with less people. If anything the opposite as it's more expensive to make it locally with less workers available. Automation in agriculture continues to expand. And in my experience most Japanese tend to prefer locally made products despite the higher prices. This was most obvious when I saw the pile of australian steaks sitting next to a much smaller cut of domestic steak that were nearly sold out at the supermarket. Or consider that Seiko make identical watches domestically, and in SEA, but the "Made in Japan" models are only sold in Japan.
There are still ~1MM babies born in Japan every year. They will be fine with a reduction in population. They don't seem keen on expanding immigration anyway, or a demographic shift, so I don't understand the desire to push mass immigration on every nation with a declining birth rate. They're not bothering anyone by wanting to keep Japan, Japanese.
> commuting in/out is unparalleled.
Choose either one.
I've been to rural Japanese towns where it felt like there were no young people at all, only elderly, and the largest employers were related to elder care.
I suppose one aspect that might reduce the burden on the government, is that all the savings of these elderly are not going to someone's inheritance, but instead to the elder care institutions.