Even for Japan, the number of foreign workers has climbed in recent years by more than one million against the backdrop of an acute labor shortage. Even if a decline in the working age population is inevitable, the negative impact on labor input can be mitigated by raising labor participation rates. In this regard, Japan has made tangible achievements in recent years.
Slide 10 offers an international comparison of labor force participation rates. The lower left panel shows Japan's labor participation rate for women by age group over the past two decades. You see that more women in the age group of 25-34 years (typically young working mothers) work today than ever before, offsetting the overall decline in the working age population.