Japan is currently the world’s third-largest economy. It is the host to global heavyweights ranging from car manufacturers to game developers. Not only that but Japan worked as a key link in global semiconductor supply chains. Elon Musk, the CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc. has recently tweeted about Japan’s population decline and its future impact. It has no doubt provoked anger in the global community, but not just at him.
Elon Musk Says Japan Would “Eventually Cease To Exist”
The powerful tech mogul Elon Musk has recently replied to a tweet from @WholeMarsBlog. The former tweet was stating a huge fall in Japan’s population as recorded in 2021. The population of the country fell by a record 644000 to 125.5 mil. in the same year.
Musk replied to this “At the 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.”
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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 7, 2022
This tweet of Musk triggered a flood of sarcasm and anger as the tycoon suggested that the island nation will “eventually cease to exist” if the same continues. Japan’s population was at its peak in 2008, but since then it has been facing a consistent decline. The reason is mainly a huge decrease in the total fertility rate (TFR).
People’s Reaction To The Tweet And Also The Issue Being Portrayed
As per the records, the Japanese government has issued enough warnings and made several attempts to increase the birth rate. Though it all went in vain as TFR remained below the replacement level of about 2.1 children per woman. Hence some people are really against the tweet of Elon Musk. “What is even the point of tweeting this?” wrote Tobias Harris, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.
That's right. But what would you change if you were a Japanese prime minister?
— Keisuke Honda (@kskgroup2017) May 8, 2022
“The anxieties surrounding Japan’s demographic future is not that ‘Japan will eventually cease to exist but rather the profound social dislocations that are occurring as a result of the decline to a lower population level,” wrote Harris.
What is even the point of tweeting this? The anxieties surrounding Japan's demographic future is not that "Japan will eventually cease to exist" but rather the profound social dislocations that are occurring as a result of the decline to a lower population level. pic.twitter.com/ohU1dSOUmU
— Tobias Harris (@observingjapan) May 8, 2022
Some users held Plague responsible for the sluggish birth rate in many nations besides Japan, including Germany where Tesla has opened a new factory. Japanese commentators did not find the scenario surprising as they already slammed the government for not doing enough to fight it.
"They keep saying the birthrate's falling, but given that the government isn't taking thorough steps to deal with it, what can we say? Everything they say and do is contradictory," wrote Twitter user SROFF. https://t.co/VUMWEVLLId
— Thasaroot (@aun_sealed) May 9, 2022
“They keep saying the birthrate’s falling, but given that the government isn’t taking thorough steps to deal with it, what can we say? Everything they say and do is contradictory,” wrote Twitter user SROFF.
“In this environment, who’s going to say ‘Okay, let’s have a child’? I despair for Japan.”
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