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Elon Musk alerts Japan

He is charismatic and unpredictable.

His personality is divided.

Some people describe him as the most revolutionary CEO in recent years. Others see him as the CEO, who is the mirror of an era dominated by trends that follow one another at the speed of a short video on TikTok.

We stick all the labels on him: meme CEO, megalomaniac. But Elon Musk has managed to get everyone to agree on one important thing: he is filling a major leadership vacuum that the world is currently experiencing because of the distrust of political leaders.

Musk saw his popularity boom in recent months. For those who love numbers, Musk managed to gain millions of followers on the social network Twitter (TWTR) – Get Twitter, Inc. in a few weeks. Report, which he describes as a “de facto town square” on the Internet. He has more than 91.5 million followers at the time of writing.

We remind you that the serial entrepreneur is in the process of acquiring Twitter for 44 billion dollars. In this way, he will add to his already full schedule – Tesla (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc Report, SpaceX, The Boring Company, Neuralink – another company with a global presence. In some countries, Twitter and other social networks are often a place to express political opponents and minorities.

“Japan will eventually cease to exist”

Therefore, Musk seems to be accepting his new status. He now speaks on almost all topics, economic, political, geopolitical, aware that his voice has influence and can start a debate or shed the spotlight on an issue. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Musk has just tackled another international issue.

The billionaire, whose fortune is estimated at $ 247 billion on May 7, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, is worried about the decline in the Japanese population.

“At the risk of saying the obvious, unless something changes to make the birth rate exceed the death rate, Japan will eventually cease to exist,” Musk wrote on Twitter on May 7. “It would be a great loss for the world.”

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The billionaire’s alarming cry followed the publication of an article announcing the continuing decline in Japan’s population.

“Japan’s population is falling from a record 644,000 to 125.5 million in 2021, @elonmusk,” tweeted the Whole Mars Catalog account in Musk.

Fear of the tech mogul seems to be shared by many Twitter users, who recall, for example, that Japan’s population has been declining for many years.

“It’s true and there is cause for concern,” commented one user. “Japan is so important to the world – we need Japan not only to survive but also to prosper. Hundreds of millions around the world deeply admire, love and respect the Japanese people. @NikkeiAsia.”

“We, the working age, are struggling to escape this suffering. Thank you for worrying about Japan. It is very encouraging,” wrote another user.

“Unless something changes to cause CHILDREN’S REJECTION FROM JAPANESE PARENTS, Japan will eventually cease to exist. That would be a great loss for the world, “said another user.

“Second children’s wall”

In 2021, Japan’s population has shrunk by 644,000 to 125.5 million annually, according to official figures. And 2021 marked the eleventh consecutive year of decline. If this is the biggest annual decline, the Japanese decline is nothing new.

For decades, Japan has been plagued by a serious problem with declining birth rates. The breakdown at birth in Japan is well documented. The archipelago experienced a fantastic demographic acceleration in the 20th century, growing between 1920 and 2008, the peak year of its population, from 55 to 128 million inhabitants. It was on the back of this wave that the Japanese “economic miracle” took place, creating an unprecedented wealth in human history. The post-war numbers make you especially dizzy. In 1946, the birth rate in Japan reached 4.5 children per woman, and 3.6 million children were born in the same year.

But there has been a phenomenon since then called the “second children’s wall,” demographers say. The renewal of generations in the country is not guaranteed, as the fertility index is 1.4 children per woman instead of 2.1. Many say they ideally want two or three children, but often do only one because it costs too much.

Consecutive governments have taken steps to try to end this demographic crisis, when nearly 30% of the population is over 65 years old.