20000403

'Japan needs

sizeable immigration

to fill jobs by 2050'

ISLAMABAD: Japan's working population is expected to decline substantially over the next 50 years and sizable immigration is needed if the country wants to maintain its present workforce level, says a United Nations report.

In a survey of long-term population trends in eight industrialised countries, the UN Population Division said the working population in Japan is projected to decline from 87.2 million in 1995 to 53.7 million in 2050, and 609,000 immigrants are needed each year to maintain the 1995, size of the workforce in the age group of 15 to 64 years.

The survey said without substantial immigration, the working population in developed countries in Europe and in South Korea is expected to shrink as well.

In Italy, the working population, 39.20 million in 1995, is projected to shrink by half till 2050, and 357,000 immigrants are needed each year to fill the gap, the study said.ÑAPP