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Japan Gets Even Older...And More Single

TOKYO- Japan's demographic woes keep multiplying.

The number of children under 15 has dropped for the 31st year in a row, down 120,000 from last year reports the Japan Times. The ratio of children to the overall population fell to an all time low of 13%, showing Japan's ageing population is definitely not getting any younger. The newborn-to 2-year-olds group was aptly the tiniest group - representing 3.1 million out of 16.6 million children.

The steepest fall was unsurprisingly in Fukushima prefecture, where the number of children shrank by 13,000 near the nuclear plant.

Another worrying trend to come out of Japan this week, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun, is that the percentage of people unmarried at the age of 50 rose to a record high of 20.1% among men and 10.6% among women. The biggest proportion of unmarried people is the 25-29 age group, where 71.8% of men and 60.3% of women are shying away from wedded bliss.

The Mainichi adds another nail to Japan's coffin, reporting that there are 3 million middle-aged so-called "parasite singles' in Japan, that is to say unmarried and unemployed people between 35 and 44 who still live with their parents. "If the number of people who cannot care for themselves increases," worries Chuo University Professor Masahiro Yamada, "the birthrate could decline further."

Sources:
JAPAN TIMES/THE YOMUIRI SHIMBUN/THE MAINICHI

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Society

The Australian Dream: Lived, Loved And Lost By Yearning Italian Youth

Every year thousands of young Italians apply for a Working Holiday visa and escape to Australia. They have many reasons for leaving — but many seek a better work-life balance down under. And then, there are those who cut their adventure short to return home to the bel paese.

photo looking through windshield

Uluṟu, Mutitjulu, Australia

Laura Loguercio

MILAN — “The last two days it was 35 degrees, but last week we got over 40.” It’s December. As he speaks to me, it is just past 10 p.m. for Alberto Bellini, while here, in cold, wintery Milan, the afternoon has just begun. Alberto is exactly 12,992 kilometers away from my phone: he called me from Karratha, a town of 23,000 inhabitants in Western Australia.

Alberto is one of the thousands young Italians who, every year, decide to leave everything and move to the other side of the world, taking advantage of the Working Holiday visa that, thanks to an international convention, allows them to live and work in Australia for up to three years.

Another land, another language, another life. The reasons for leaving are many and always different, as are those that convince so many to return to Italy after months or years spent abroad. In some cases, the desire to leave is dictated by the immobility of the Italian labor market, which benefits those who already have everything.

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