My readers should know that the Japanese population has been declining for several years. From a peak of 127 million people the number has dropped to about 126 million.
Everyone in Japan has been aware of this impending change in population for decades. I have regularly talked to official Japan about their concerns and plans.
After several decades of trying to reverse this trend with rewards for childbearing and attempts to bring in immigrants (including 300,000 Japanese and descendants who had migrated to South America over the past century) they have given up.
The Japanese national policy is to focus on two areas. The first is to move Japanese owned factories to other nations where the Japanese ownership can be protected and the factories can use the indigenous population as the workforce.
The second is to focus on developing robots to deliver care for the elderly population and support for the caregivers. Japan is decades ahead of everyone else in this area.
Lastly, there is a calm commitment to inaction.
There is a widespread belief that population will stabilize and the birthrate will be adequate when the population reaches some number in the 80 million range. At that point new children and families will have such a great value that family succession will again be effective.
Additionally, changes in warfare will allow a smaller Japanese military population to be highly effective.