Let's Make Babies!

It's been a couple of weeks of awful news and disaster after calamity, but we cannot forget the problems that have been put aside by the press. Of course, I am referring to the declining population in Japan.
I have mentioned this before – the herbivores and other men who are not interested in sex. But let's face it, those were top-of-the-news attractions with only weak data to support them.
A Hard Hitting News Hound does not stop with the superficial, the trivial explanations of social ills. No. A Hard Hitting News Hound digs and digs, deeper and deeper until the truth is excavated and everyone can see what is REALLY going on.
I am afraid that (despite the awful news of nuclear problems etc. etc.... yawn) I have discovered some really important developments in Japan's population crisis.
First, please check out this map. All of the links I put in here are meant to be looked at, so go ahead... don't be shy... check it out.
Yes, this does mean you.
Now what does this map show us? It shows us (in blueish tinges) where there are very low numbers of children.
What does this mean, you ask?
It means that there are not many children in those areas.
Duh?
(Some people are SO stupid... not you, of course.)
No... what you really want to know is why am I showing you this. Right?
OK. Take a look at this map.
On this map the reddish areas highlight the number of senior citizens. If you toggle back and forth, you can see immediately what I am talking about!
The more the seniors, the fewer the children!
Can you believe this? In a country that is SUFFERING from depopulation in many areas and as a nation too, some people are not living up to their national responsibilities.
Yes, I hate to be explicit, but sometimes an investigative reporter simply has to lay it all out and let the chips fall where they may.
Seniors are not having children!
Japan is a nation that survives on community effort. Look at the recovery going on right now! It is a nation where everyone knows his/her place and works to make that place the best ever. Everyone pulls his or her own weight.
But, look at these seniors. Data does not lie!
There they are, living in the comfort of their pensions, probably playing golf everyday and sitting around watching mind-numbing programs on TV while the population of Japan is decreasing.
Especially in their prefectures!
And what are THEY doing about it?
Nothing!
This is not an easy problem to solve. It will require a national effort. But seniors in their decrepitude need to be reminded that even though they are "retired", they still have responsibilities to the nation. The government needs to take steps immediately to encourage them to have more children and bring their prefectures up to national averages (at least!).
As a news watcher, I know that it is not easy for the government to take its eye off the important balls (har) that seem to be out of control right now, but over the long term, it still needs to address critical problems that will have long-range implications.
It might take serious investigative reporting like mine to provide a stimulus for the government to begin to take steps to resolve this critical problem.