Double Japan's Population

Devvy

Donor
This might be a stupid point....but can Japan physically accommodate that much population? Japan is crammed full of people anyway, roads are congestion central, and the country is run on public transport anyway. Households have multiple generations of the family living there because young families can't get their own place. From my short time living in Kansai, I just can't see how you're going to have space to double the population.
 
I think increasing Japan's population requires Japan being bigger than the Home Islands, which in itself is going to have huge ramifications.
 
The primary reason for this thread isn't how. It's the after effects of such an outcome.
Plausibility needs to be maintained.

It's what prevents questions like, what if the Nazis got a death star.

Anyway serious answer if Japan had double the population and similar per capita gdp world food prices would go up.
 

The Poarter

Banned
Plausibility needs to be maintained.

It's what prevents questions like, what if the Nazis got a death star.

Anyway serious answer if Japan had double the population and similar per capita gdp world food prices would go up.

Thank you. This is something I would like to know or have a discussion about. I don't really care how since this idea plausible in that Malaysia might fall to radical islamists right after british rule has ended but it's still a plausible idea and one I wish to consider.
 
Thank you. This is something I would like to know or have a discussion about. I don't really care how since this idea plausible in that Malaysia might fall to radical islamists right after british rule has ended but it's still a plausible idea and one I wish to consider.
Also the how has an effect on the consequences.

Japanese always been an anti immigrant country so we are all assuming that it has to get its population growth through natural growth.

Let's say instead there's a second Korean war leaving millions dead and America pushes Japan into accepting 30 million Korean immigrants.

Well that Japan is going to have a different response to everything than one that removed women from the Labour force, women had many more children and thus higher population growth. Im not sure how Japan could have maintained its gdp per capita keeping women out of the labour force. Lets say management of outsourced service centres where renumeration follows a top heavy model.
 
This might be a stupid point....but can Japan physically accommodate that much population? Japan is crammed full of people anyway, roads are congestion central, and the country is run on public transport anyway. Households have multiple generations of the family living there because young families can't get their own place. From my short time living in Kansai, I just can't see how you're going to have space to double the population.

It is feasible. Java has 150+ million people. Density of Java 1117 people per km2.
Density of Japanese 4 main islands.
Honshu - 451.8 people per km2.
Hokkaido - 64.8 people per km2.
Kyushu - 307.13 people per km2.
Shikoku - 204.55 people per km2.
Even doubled they will be still less densely populated than Java.
 

Devvy

Donor
It is feasible. Java has 150+ million people. Density of Java 1117 people per km2.
Density of Japanese 4 main islands.
Honshu - 451.8 people per km2.
Hokkaido - 64.8 people per km2.
Kyushu - 307.13 people per km2.
Shikoku - 204.55 people per km2.
Even doubled they will be still less densely populated than Java.

The problem with that is that 2/3 of Japan is Honshu, and Honshu is extremely rugged and mountainous. Going pretty much anywhere on Honshu is a trip of going up a hill and coming down the other, usually multiple times. Not great terrain for housing and the like.
 
It is feasible. Java has 150+ million people. Density of Java 1117 people per km2.
Density of Japanese 4 main islands.
Honshu - 451.8 people per km2.
Hokkaido - 64.8 people per km2.
Kyushu - 307.13 people per km2.
Shikoku - 204.55 people per km2.
Even doubled they will be still less densely populated than Java.

That is true, though would a higher population density hurt economic growth? I don't think the Japanese would want a Javanese standard of living.

The most plausible way for this to happen, IMO, is to prevent the massive growth of the Japanese economy post-WW2. Keep living standards low, education rates low, and keep women out of the workforce, and you'll see some serious population growth. How to do this, I'm not sure. Maybe have a Japan War analogous to the OTL Korean War?
 

Deleted member 97083

No Korean War. No reindustrialisation in steel. Textiles lead reindustrialisation.

Low wages > high birth rate.
Low wages only lead to a high birth rate in a country that isn't developed/industrialized yet. Otherwise in an industrialized country like Japan, they lower the birth rate.
 

RousseauX

Donor
This might be a stupid point....but can Japan physically accommodate that much population? Japan is crammed full of people anyway, roads are congestion central, and the country is run on public transport anyway. Households have multiple generations of the family living there because young families can't get their own place. From my short time living in Kansai, I just can't see how you're going to have space to double the population.
Yes, Japan has pop density of ~335 ppl/Km^2, NYC has like over 10k+, you can easily have bigger cities. Raw space rarely constrains population growth in modern countries.
 

RousseauX

Donor
Low wages only lead to a high birth rate in a country that isn't developed/industrialized yet. Otherwise in an industrialized country like Japan, they lower the birth rate.
the implication I think is that Japan stays much more agrarian and less urbanized than otl
 
This might be a stupid point....but can Japan physically accommodate that much population? Japan is crammed full of people anyway, roads are congestion central, and the country is run on public transport anyway. Households have multiple generations of the family living there because young families can't get their own place. From my short time living in Kansai, I just can't see how you're going to have space to double the population.
As long as nothing prevents them from importing food, almost any population size can be accommodated by building high enough.
 
Low wages only lead to a high birth rate in a country that isn't developed/industrialized yet. Otherwise in an industrialized country like Japan, they lower the birth rate.

1945 effectively deindustrialised Japan like 1950-3 deindustrialised North Korea.

Japan's semi-developed status until the 1970s encourages birth rates and survival rates. Kill off the Korean War and Vietnam war as Japan's Marshall Plan and you achieve the semi-industrialised requirement for high birth rate.

Let's make it easier: a Vietnam like commitment happens eventually but Thailand and ROC China are chosen to be metals sweatshops for the free world.

Yours,
Sam R.
 
zefJF1B.png

This is a good reference map for this topic I think.
 
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