How has Japan managed population ageing?

At a time when population ageing is a growing issue in European countries, raising the question in particular of how to balance pension systems, it is useful to look at how Japan has managed the early and significant ageing of its population . The important questions are: Has immigration been used? In the case of Japan, it is well known that the answer is no; How has the pension system evolved? Has the weight of public pensions increased, has the retirement age been increased, and has the level of pensions been reduced? In Japan, there have been increases in both the weight of pensions and in the retirement age; Have per capita living standards been maintained while the proportion of non-workers in the population has risen? Has productivity partially corrected the effect of ageing on potential production? Japan’s per capita GDP rose on the back of productivity gains and then a rise in the employment rate; Has Japan consumed external assets accumulated previously to partially offset the effect of ageing on income? No. Altogether, Japan ’s response to population ageing has primarily entailed a rise in the labour force thanks to a rise in the employment rate and an increase in the retirement age.