Negative population growth is a serious issue that, if left to iteslf, will result in the extinction of many western nations native population. Spain for exemple will see it's native population go down by one half in the next 100 years or so, and then further by another half in the followin 50 years if the current trend is maintained. Eventually there will be an extinction of native sapniards in Spain. Other European nation are pretty much in the same boat.
In my homeland the native french are on the way to destruction both from low fertility rate, and emigration. Fortunately there's a trend of wealthy babyboomers who, instead of making their own children, go to China to buy... ooops... "adopt" babies.
But we can foresee a future where the native french population is sidelined just as the First Nations have been.
Now negative population growth may look good considering the problem of world overpopulation, but we must consider this : World population is increasing at prodigious speed overall, in spite of this depopulation in developped nations. So the question begs : Does it change anything for the overpopulated third-world countries? Not at all.
Fertility rate are inversely proportional to national prosperity. The richer nations produce less children because there is no need to churn them out like cheap plastic toys in Chinese factories. Infant survival rates and longevity eliminates the old need for many offsprings.
A key to reduce puopulation growth in under-developped world would pass through increasing prosperity, and education.
As for japan's problem with fertility maybe the guys there could just lay off a bit on the dolls and H games and get close with real Japanese girls. Just a thought.
And if they really like their anime girl pillows over real girls so much then I offer an exchange program between me and Japan. Their problems would then be solved very quickly.
