another look at population growth

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Japan's virgin wives turn to sex volunteers: "...The sexless marriage is one of several reasons why experts fear Japan is on the verge of a demographic disaster.

In 2003 Japan's birthrate hit a record low of 1.29 - the average number of times a woman gives birth during her lifetime - one of the lowest rates in the world, according to the cabinet office. The population will peak next year at about 128 million, then decline to just over 100 million by 2050.[...]

"A survey of 600 women found that 26% had not had sex with their husbands in the past year.

'We are sort of room-mates rather than a married couple,' one 31-year-old man, who had not had sex with his wife for two years, told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

The government has introduced several measures to lift the birthrate. Fathers will be encouraged to take more than the 47% of annual paid leave they currently use, and their employers will be told to provide more opportunities for them to stay at home with their children.

Local authorities, meanwhile, are devising novel ways to increase fertility. In the town of Yamatsuri women will receive 1m yen if they have a third child, and in Ishikawa prefecture families with three children will get discounts at shops and restaurants. [...]"