Does Japan Need More People?

This second-grade class in Nishiki has only three children. The school will close in 2007. (Photo: Anthony Faiola/Wash. Post)

A baby bust in Japan is emptying schools and threatening Japan's economy. Pediatricians are switching specialties into geriatrics.

To respond, Japan should not only encourage births by supporting childcare, it should begin busily teaching Japanese to its Asian neighbors, and offering a welcoming immigration law.