Disruptive Global Trends and How They Interact

Urbanization, accelerating technological change, aging populations, and increased global connections—these are the four fundamental disruptive forces mentioned in article, “The four global forces breaking all the trends”. Japan is a perfect example of how these four trends are all interconnected how they can utilize certain forces to address their most problematic trend of an aging population.

About one fourth of Japan’s population consists of the elderly, those 65 and older. Currently, the country’s low birthrate means that there are not enough people being born to replace those that die. This results in a population imbalance and the country is faced with the issue of how best to service their elderly’s health needs. 

The video, “Japan’s Baby Drain”, highlights all of the issues faced in country with an aging population. The video made an interesting example of a town in Japan called Nanmoku—the town consists of mainly old people. The town used to have a sizable population over 1200 children attending elementary, but now they are left with just 37 students. The 1^st grade class, consisting of just one student, further highlights the population divide between the old and the young. To add to the mix, the disruptive trend of urbanization has drawn all the young people of working age to nearby Tokyo, leaving Nanmoku reminiscent of a ghost town. And ironically, as a contrast to the empty elementary schools in Nanmoku, elderly centers in Tokyo are bustling with patients and lack enough health workers to service them all. But we see that one disruptive trend, increased global connectivity, can come to the aid of aging populations; the video interviews foreign workers who have come to Japan from developing countries to fill the demand for more caretakers.  As the populations of advanced economies age, they will have to take advantage of the increasing global connectivity and draw upon workers from developing countries.

The video also shows an interesting segment on how Japan is utilizing accelerating technological changes to address the trend of its aging population. Toyota is the process of developing an advanced robot capable of assisting elderly patients with daily activities. Although the project is far from completion, designing a robot to replace some of the duties of health workers would alleviate the shortage of manpower.

Japan serves as an interesting example for developed economies—their current situation is a parallel to what other advanced nations, such as the United States, will face in the near future. The four forces consisting of increasing urbanization, technological advancement, aging demographics, and global connectivity will no doubt bring about huge changes, but they are all interconnected and will evolve simultaneously. Also, as Japan as shown, it is possible to utilize the various forces to solve problems that arise in one.