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AllAfrica
11-08-2025
- Business
- AllAfrica
Fewer cradles, more canes: East Asia's demographic reckoning
East Asia faces an unprecedented demographic transformation that will reshape the region's economic and social foundations within decades. From Seoul to Singapore, fertility rates have collapsed below replacement levels, creating aging societies with shrinking workforces and mounting care demands. While this crisis spans multiple countries, Japan provides the clearest window into both the challenges ahead and potential solutions, having reached the most advanced stage of demographic decline. The regional scope is staggering. South Korea's fertility rate has plummeted to 0.72, the world's lowest, while China's has fallen to 1.09 despite abandoning its one-child policy. Taiwan sits at 0.87, and Singapore at 0.97. These aren't temporary fluctuations but sustained collapses driven by shared pressures: intense educational competition, high living costs, demanding work cultures and persistent gender inequalities that burden women with disproportionate caregiving responsibilities. Japan, as the demographic frontrunner, illustrates where this trajectory leads. In 2024, births fell to 686,061—the first time below 700,000 since 1899—while deaths approached 1.6 million, shrinking the population by 900,000 people. The fertility rate dropped to 1.15, and in Tokyo, it's below 1.0. With seniors comprising 30% of the population and working-age adults only 59%, Japan faces smaller tax bases, strained pensions and regions struggling with aging and decline. The Japanese experience reveals why conventional policy responses fail across the region. Despite extensive family-friendly policies, including child allowances and parental leave, births continue falling because three fundamental barriers persist throughout East Asia. High-intensity work cultures directly conflict with family formation, especially for women caught between career demands and caregiving expectations. Marriage-centric approaches to parenthood reduce births when marriage itself becomes delayed or avoided. Rising costs of housing, education and child-rearing push desired family sizes below replacement levels, particularly in expensive metropolitan areas. These create self-reinforcing cycles visible across the region: fewer young adults produce fewer births, accelerating aging and fiscal pressure, which tightens labor markets and makes family formation even harder. China's shrinking workforce, South Korea's pension crisis and Singapore's foreign worker dependence all reflect variations of this dynamic. Japan's evolution toward immigration as a partial solution foreshadows regional trends. Foreign residents reached 3.6 million in early 2025, reflecting policy shifts that other East Asian countries are beginning to emulate. However, immigration alone cannot reverse age structures quickly enough, and political sensitivities remain high across the region. The crucial challenge is integrating immigrants effectively to stabilize productivity and social cohesion. Rather than chasing birth rate recovery, East Asian societies need comprehensive strategies for thriving with smaller, older populations. Japan's emerging approach offers a regional template across several dimensions. Work redesign represents the first priority. Default flexibility with strict overtime limits and predictable scheduling challenges the region's notorious work cultures. Corporate incentives should be tied to concrete caregiving and flexibility improvements, not just policy promises. This applies equally to South Korea's demanding corporate culture and China's '996' work expectations. Making parenthood low-friction requires treating early childhood care as critical infrastructure. Universal, high-quality childcare within reasonable distances, backed by guaranteed spots, addresses cost and availability barriers across the region. Portable benefits independent of employment or marital status support contemporary life patterns from Seoul to Shanghai. Normalizing diverse family pathways means decoupling benefits from marriage and supporting single parents and cohabiting partners. Tax and pension systems should encourage rather than penalize dual-earner households, challenging traditional gender roles that persist across East Asian societies. Building 'silver productivity' economies through age-tech, robotics and AI-enabled care platforms offers opportunities to turn demographic challenges into competitive advantages. Regional cooperation in developing these technologies could create exportable expertise in serving aging populations globally. Immigration strategies must shift toward long-term settlement with language training, credential recognition, and anti-discrimination enforcement. Singapore's managed approach and Japan's recent visa expansions suggest models that China and South Korea might adapt. The political economy of this transition varies across the region but shares common elements. Success requires coalitions spanning seniors, employers and younger households, with immigration policies becoming predictably stable. China's authoritarian system offers different tools than democratic Taiwan or South Korea, but all face similar distributional negotiations about who pays for change and how quickly institutions adapt. East Asia can pioneer the world's first cluster of successful 'high-longevity, low-fertility' societies that maintain prosperity by maximizing capability at every age and background. This vision prioritizes time for caregivers, dignity for aging citizens, and inclusion for new residents across national boundaries. Japan's role as the demographic frontrunner makes it a crucial test case. If Japan develops effective adaptation strategies, they can inform approaches across the region and beyond. Many Western countries face similar but delayed transitions, making East Asian innovations globally relevant. The demographic crisis spans East Asia, but so does the opportunity for solutions. Japan's experience as the leading edge offers both warnings and hope for neighbors following the same path. The question isn't whether these societies will age and shrink—that's already happening. The question is whether they can build thriving models adapted to that reality, potentially transforming one of the 21st century's greatest challenges into a source of innovation and global leadership. Y. Tony Yang is an endowed professor and associate dean at the George Washington University in Washington, DC.
Press and Journal
18-07-2025
- General
- Press and Journal
How the Malcolm Miller went from scrap to splendour as it makes a triumphant return to Aberdeen
The Malcolm Miller made its glorious return to the Granite City this week, having been built here 58 years ago. The yacht is moored in the Port of Aberdeen as part of the Tall Ships Races, having journeyed more than 4,000 miles from Cyprus. Stepping aboard, you can see that it has been lovingly restored by owner, Ajax Eas. He saved it from being sold for scrap more than 15 years ago. The boat was originally built using funds from Sir James Miller, a former Lord Mayor of London and Lord Provost of Edinburgh. She was named in memory of Sir James's son Malcolm, who had been killed in a car accident. And for many years she was used by the Sail Training Association as a sail training ship. In June 2008, the vessel's story nearly came to an end, as she was damaged by fire while being refurbished. The incident left one man with serious burns and could have spelled the end for the Aberdeen-built ship. By August 2009, the ship was moored to a buoy in Falmouth harbour, mastless and ailing, though still bearing the name Malcolm Miller. It was then that her current owner stepped-in. She was bought by Mr Eas and taken to Gdansk, in Poland, to undergo a complete refit at the Conrad shipyard. Mr Eas said: 'She was a wreck, but you looked at the lines of the ship and you could still see the potential she had. 'I knew she could do it and I decided to give her another chance.' For more than 10 years Malcolm Miller has sailed the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas, venturing as far as the Caribbean. Mr Eas said: 'I realised that the Malcolm Miller was being sold for scrap in Falmouth and I was interested in the vessel so I bought it. 'Bringing it back to Aberdeen, it felt really amazing to see the reaction of people towards a ship that was built in Aberdeen.' The yacht was welcomed into the port by a piper, which Mr Eas says 'almost brought him to tears.' A unique touch added to the Malcolm Miller is its abnormally-large flag in the form of a St Andrew's Cross. The banner is 31ft – which represents the years of service between her construction and her most recent visit to Aberdeen, which was in 1999. Mr Eas says he loves seeing the Malcolm Miller glide through the water – noting that she is fast! A tour of the ship showcases the fine craftsmanship that has been put into restoring it. There's lots of polished wood, cosy cabins – though the master is very spacious – and a stainless steel galley. There is also plenty of room for the guests and crew aboard. The Malcolm Miller is in Aberdeen as a 'festival boat' rather than involved in the races as, despite her speed, Mr Eas prefers 'to cruise'.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amtrak blasts Hochul and MTA for spinning blame on tunnel closures that could lead to delays
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Amtrak's top boss blasted Gov. Kathy Hochul for failing to shoulder her portion of the blame for tunnel closures that could lead to train delays starting next week. In a sharply worded letter to Hochul, Amtrak president Roger Harris said Hochul's last-minute objections to Amtrak's tunnel shutdown plan were 'surprising' because MTA approved Amtrak's service plans for the $1.6 billion East River Tunnel rehabilitation months ago. Harris also said MTA's mismanagement of another project delayed the 'critical' East River Tunnel repairs by six months — and he accused the state of pushing 'misinformation' that undermines public trust. 'This underscores the importance of aligned public messaging,' Harris wrote to the governor. 'The project's engineering, safety and operational requirements have been transparent from the start and fully vetted by your agencies, MTA and New York State Department of Transportation.' Amtrak president Roger Harris said MTA has been a part of the controversial plan to close parts of the East River tunnels for repair work all along. REUTERS Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote a letter Monday calling on Amtrak to change its repair plans — even though the NYDOT had worked closely on the project plans. Robert Miller Harris warned that spinning the story could 'erode confidence' in all the agencies trying to fix the city's crumbling rails. Starting May 9, Amtrak will close for repair one of the four East River tunnels that connect Penn Station to Queens — forcing the MTA, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains to operate on fewer tracks while the aging infrastructure, which was battered by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, undergoes major repairs. There will be only 10 round trips from Penn Station to Albany instead of the usual 12 because of the closure. Workers will alternate which tunnel they work on during the three-year project. Passengers were outraged after MTA heads warned the tunnel closures could cause delays for all trains running through the remaining three East River tunnels. In response to Harris' letter, MTA issued a statement from Long Island Rail Road president Rob Free. 'If they proceed as intended, while finger-pointing about unrelated issues as a distraction, Long Islanders' reliance on record on-time and reliable trains will be jeopardized — which is unacceptable,' Free said. Laura Mason, executive vice president at Amtrak, said Amtrak engineers worked with the MTA 'in a lot of detail' on the East River tunnel plans. 'This collaboration goes back years,' she told The Post Friday. There will be only 10 round trips from Penn Station to Albany instead of the usual 12 during the three-year project. AP The White House put Amtrak in charge of the Penn Station redo. Two weeks later, the MTA board passed a resolution condemning Amtrak's construction work on the East River tunnel project. Mason said Amtrak was already working with MTA to mitigate delays by adding more standby crews to rescue trains if something goes wrong and by changing train schedules. 'I don't want to opine on their motives, but I do think the timing is questionable,' Mason said. The engineer is working on the Penn Station revamp too — that project was recently yanked from the MTA and handed to Amtrak instead by the Trump administration. 'It is always challenging in an environment that has a lot of intense politics, as well as a high degree of ridership that people do get nervous ahead of these outages,' Mason said. A spokesperson for Hochul said Amtrak has failed to deliver on promises to mitigate service disruptions and that's why the governor is concerned.
AllAfrica
24-02-2025
- Politics
- AllAfrica
China war games nudge New Zealand closer to AUKUS
The appearance of three Chinese naval vessels firing live rounds in the Tasman Sea has caused understandable alarm in New Zealand and Australia. But this has more to do with the geopolitical context than the actual event. In fact, the Chinese navy is allowed to conduct exercises in the Tasman and has wide freedoms on the high seas in general. So far, China appears to be acting in accordance with both the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea. While New Zealand would have preferred more notice of the Chinese navy's intentions, there was no obligation to provide this. Nor is what is occurring in the Tasman similar to the more aggressive saber-rattling the Chinese military has displayed around the South China Sea, most recently involving both the Australian and Philippine navies. And in September last year, just a few days after Australian and New Zealand vessels sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the Chinese test-fired a nuclear-capable intercontinental missile into the South Pacific. For China, of course, Taiwan and parts of the South China Sea are highly disputed territory. The Tasman Sea is not. But what is disputed is China's role and influence in the Pacific – and this, rather than a minor naval exercise, is what is causing headaches in Canberra and Wellington. The surprise agreement signed by the Cook Islands and China under a fortnight ago, aimed at 'deepening blue economy cooperation', is the immediate context for that concern. The deal avoids controversial areas such as security and policing. But it moves Chinese influence into infrastructure support for wharves, shipbuilding and repair, and ocean transportation. What really challenges New Zealand's foreign policy is how this opens the South Pacific up to even greater Chinese influence and activity. Foreign Minister Winston Peters has signaled it is time to reset the relationship with the Cooks. For its part, China has asserted that its relationship with the Cook Islands 'is not directed against any third party and should not be subject to or disrupted by any third party.' In other words, China has told New Zealand to butt out of a major development in the historically close diplomatic and political relationship with its Pacific neighbor. All of this is happening within a rapidly shifting geopolitical sphere. US President Donald Trump is unilaterally attempting to upend the old US-led world order, and other major powers such as Russia and China are adapting. New Zealand's relations with China were already difficult. The Security Intelligence Service and Government Communications Security Bureau have both identified state-sponsored Chinese interference in domestic affairs, breaches of the parliamentary network and other malicious cyber activity. The question now is whether China has scored an own goal with its recent actions. While it might prefer New Zealand to operate a more independent foreign policy – balancing its relations with East and West – the opposite may now be more likely. In times of international stress and uncertainty, New Zealand has always tended to move towards deepening relationships with traditional allies. Whether it is the fear of Russian invasion in the 19th century, or Japanese invasion in the 20th century – and whether or not those threats are real or imagined – New Zealand reverts to form. It has been this way for nearly 150 years and is likely to occur again. New Zealand is already grappling with how to respond to the Trump administration's redrawn global system and will be looking for ways to deepen the friendship. At the same time, the government now seems committed to joining a new arms race and increasing defense spending as a proportion of GDP. And the supposed benefits of joining the second tier of the AUKUS security pact may now become that much easier to sell politically. Alexander Gillespie is professor of law, University of Waikato This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
