Japan and South Korea launch joint committee on falling birthrates
The initiative aims to pool knowledge on falling birthrates and shrinking populations, with cross-border work, study and community exchanges among the measures proposed.
Japanese and South Korean business leaders established a bilateral exchange committee on Sunday (August 30).
A symposium in Sendai in northeastern Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture marked its launch that day.
The body is intended to support private-sector cooperation on falling birthrates and population decline, challenges affecting both nations.
Chey Tae-won, chairman of both the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and SK Group, focused on steps that could begin immediately.
He highlighted broader opportunities for young people from each country to work and study in the other, along with increased exchanges between local communities.
Ken Kobayashi gave the opening remarks in his dual role as chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a co-chair of the committee.
He said he hoped the initiative “will become a driving force for building a society in which younger generations can live with hope.”
The committee is designed to combine knowledge and experience from both countries, allowing each side to draw on what the other has learnt while seeking solutions to their demographic challenges.
The committee’s secretariat operates from Japan’s Forum for the Future We Choose.
The private organisation includes a broad cross-section of representatives from business, labour organisations and academia.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
