New Delhi: Elon Musk, the king of controversy, has sparked another one and now it is in Japan. He recently tweeted in response to a user's statement that without a higher birth rate, Japan would "eventually cease to exist."
The billionaire tweeted, "At risk of stating the obvious, unless something changes to cause the birth rate to exceed the death rate, Japan will eventually cease to exist. This would be a great loss for the world."
Musk's post sparked a barrage of sarcasm and outrage, with some questioning the statement's purpose and others siding with the Tesla CEO.
Others argued that low birth rates are a problem in many nations, including Germany, where Tesla recently opened a new factory, and that Japan was simply the first to be affected.
The country's population continued to fall in 2021 for the 11th consecutive year.
The country's population was 125.5 million on October 1, down 644,000 from a year ago. In Japan, there were 831,000 births in 2021, but also 1.44 million deaths.
According to Kyodo News, Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications claims that this decline is the highest since comparable data became available in 1950.
Japan faces two challenges: a declining labour force and an ageing population.
Coronavirus has had a negative impact, prohibiting enterprises facing labour shortages from hiring foreign workers, despite the fact that the pace of reduction has slowed in recent years due to an increase in foreign personnel arriving under a more liberal visa system.
Businesses may find a community with a higher proportion of senior inhabitants less enticing. Business owners face a labour shortage, and the country's economy suffers without foreign investment.
However, as several users pointed out in response to Musk's tweet, Japan isn't the only country dealing with this issue; countries such as Germany, Bulgaria, Italy, and others are also affected.
