Changes in demographic structure, such as declines in the working-age population, call for a review of the sources of the labor force. Among Asian nations, Japan has the largest percentage of aging citizens, and according to JILPT (2019), the labor force in Japan is expected to decrease by 12.7 million in 2040, compared to 2017, if the economy remains at zero growth and labor force participation remains the same. Focusing on Japan, this paper examines four countermeasures to deal with the anticipated labor shortage in the future: 1) increasing employment of the elderly; 2) increasing employment of women; 3) actively utilizing the overseas labor force; and 4) improving productivity through promoting human resource development.
A thoughtful consideration of these measures reveals that securing and increasing Japan’s labor force will not be easy. The reason for this is that Japan is required to shift the resource of the labor force from men in their 20s to 50s to workers with diverse attributes and to provide workers with opportunities to develop themselves to increase their productivity. Two lessons can be learned from Japan. Firstly, there would be no short-term or quick-acting measures to secure the labor force. Secondly, even if it seems like a long way around, it is a realistic shortcut to accumulate small ingenuities and improvements for responding to the various needs of diverse workers with different attributes (e.g., gender, age, and country of origin). Population aging requires new paths for economic development, which includes thinking differently about the acquisition of a capable labor force.

In Taiwan, two characteristics of fertility in East Asia, ultra-low fertility and a rapid
decrease in fertility rates over a short period of time,can be found.In 2010,Taiwan’s total
fertility rate (TFR) fell sharply due to the unprecedented low level of 0.895 while both
characteristics,ultra-low fertility levels and a rapid decrease in fertility rates,are common
in the country’s prefectures and large-scale cities as well as throughout all of Taiwan.
McDonald (2009)argued that the ultra-low fertility trend in East Asia is fueled by the
socioeconomic profiles of institutions related to child-rearing because people of child
-rearing age tend to become economically risk-averse due to the competitive nature of
labor market deregulation.
This study,based on McDonald’s view of the economically risk-averse tendency among
young people of child-rearing age,aims to explore the effects of determinants on fertility,
including policy factors, by utilizing time series data on a regional level. This analysis
focuses on the period from 1990 to 2010 when Taiwan’s fertility decreased rapidly.
Among the supporting policies related to child-rearing,the results showed that the effect
of the rate of utilization of child-care centers was not significant while the ratio of public
child-care center enrollment to total child-care center enrollment was positive and significant.
The former indicates that young people of child-rearing age think their child’s
generation will also suffer from economic risks and, thus, they become keen on investing
in their child’s education.This factor results in an abundant supply of costly child education
programs and facilities,provided by private child-care centers that are sensitive to market
demand.Therefore,this could lead to a greater financial burden on household budgets.On
the other hand, the latter implies that child-care services that fully utilize the primary
characteristics of a public child-care center, namely providing a less costly and less
excessive response to the market mechanism, may be effective options for child-care
support.
To date, public child-care centers are not popular among Taiwanese citizens because
they do not meet the high educational expectations demanded by parents and they conjure
a negative image of a child-care center that only serves poor families who can’t afford the
costly expense of sending their children to private child-care centers.However,if sufficient
subsidies are allocated to parents or to private child-care centers, the parent’s financial
burden of paying for private child-care is expected to be reduced.Additionally,the image
of a public child-care center could be improved if parents had the option of choosing
another type of public child-care center that could strike a balance between offering sound
child-care functions and providing the expected educational functions.
Regarding the effect of leave systems, such as maternity leave or child-care leave, the
study results also showed positive and significant effects.This means that,especially from
the view point of females in the work force,the prevalence of the leave system is expected
to reduce the career risks associated with child-bearing and child-rearing ; namely, females with children will be able to continue working and develop their careers,even after giving birth.

The Japan Center for Economic Research (JCER) provides a visiting fellow program for young Asian researchers who take sabbatical leave. JCER aims at helping visiting fellows by providing them with a learning environment where they can interact with their peers. I conducted a survey of eight visiting fellows to determine their level of satisfaction with the program. The survey revealed a high degree of satisfaction in terms of daily support from peers and interactions with peers, and both resulted in the visiting fellows having a high level of satisfaction with the program and a continued interest in Japanese economy.

To compare management practices between Japanese and Korean firms, we conducted interview surveys
on organizational and human resource management based on Bloom and Van Reenen (2007). The average
management scores resulting from the interview surveys in Japanese firms were higher than in Korean
firms. The gap in the scores between Japan and Korea can be explained by more conservative human
resource management practices in Korean small and medium sized firms. We regressed some indicators
representing management practices on firm performance. Estimation results suggest that human resource
management affects firm performance in Korean firms. In Japanese firms, we expect that organizational
reform plays a role in improving firm performance in the service sector.

The demographic structure of Asia is expected to change rapidly from around 2020 up to around
2050. Following Japan, which is already at an advanced stage of aging and birthrate decline, China,
South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore will also witness a further decline in their birthrates and an
aging of their populations. Next in line will be the remaining countries of the Association of South-
East Asian Nations as well as India. Such changes, accompanied by a decline in the labor force, will
not only adversely affect economic growth, but also have a major impact on voting structures,
savings rates, and social security systems. Moreover, the process of demographic aging in Asia will
be faster than in Japan, and its extent will be substantial, both of which exacerbates the negative
effects. On positive side, these trends will give rise to the emergence of new markets