Once upon a time, the Japanese used a trite but true formulation to describe their country to foreigners: “Japan is a small, mountainous island country with a high population density and few natural resources.” Those of us who were students of the language or had an interest in the country heard it so often from well-meaning people that it stopped registering.

That’s one reason why I’ve been quietly puzzled for the past few years about the dire warnings in Japan and overseas about the country’s declining population. If you’re serious about that self-introduction, having fewer people around might not be such a bad idea, right?

Well, it turns out I’m not the only one to think so. In George Will’s most recent column about Japan, he quotes two unidentified “senior officials”, and then adds his own comment:

(One senior official) asks, “Why should we increase our population?” …(T)hat is not a foolish question. In 1920 Japan’s population was 56 million. Today it is 127.5 million on a land mass the size of California (population: 36 million) that is three-quarters mountainous. A third official, noting that Japan imports 60 percent of its staple foods, says, “It might be good to have a declining population” of, say, 100 million by 2050.

But that creates another problem: Who pays for all the welfare benefits? Will’s full column, called “Japan’s Wrenching Choices”, is here.