Strategy Council in Japan Proposes Tackling Population Decline Through Establishment of Command Center

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:55 JST, September 12, 2025

Members of the Population Strategy Council handed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday a proposal requesting the government establish a command center responsible for developing countermeasures against population decline.

The council, comprising members from the private sector, is headed by Nippon Steel Corp. Honorary Chairman Akio Mimura.

Upon receiving the proposal, Ishiba said: “I completely agree with the proposal. Unless the government acts quickly, it will be too late, so we will implement them.”

The proposal includes formulating countermeasures for the mid- to long-term and establishing a permanent research body within the Diet where suprapartisan discussions could take place.

The council was established in July 2023 and concluded its activities with the latest proposal.

The council released a report in 2024 stating that 744 municipalities nationwide, or more than 40%, would likely face the risk of disappearing in the future. It also proposed stabilizing the population at 80 million in 2100.

“We have not yet come up with concrete proposals that really resonate with young people and women,” Mimura told reporters after the meeting, expressing an intention to tackle the issue with a new organization to be launched in late October.