Japan is among the fastest aging and – as of 2005 – shrinking nations of the world. The life expectancy of Japanese men and women is among the highest, the total fertility rate among the lowest of all industrialized societies. Japan’s National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (NIPSSR), a think-tank under the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, predicts that by 2050 Japan will have lost twelve per cent of its population of 127.7 million. The population decline will be particularly pronounced among the working age population (15-64 years of age). This is what troubles politicians and business leaders most, since a decline in working age population, triggers labor shortages. When accompanied by an increase in elderly population, as it is predicted for Japan, it furthermore puts serious strains on the nation’s social security systems.