As with other major global trends or disruptors, demographic movements are also a huge catalyst for a variety of changes, including those related to employment.

A significant part of the developed world is aging, and Japan is experiencing this most severely—arguably more than any other country on Earth. The combination of an aging population and a low fertility rate is one of Japan’s biggest challenges. You might know that, in order to maintain a stable population, an average of 2.1 children must be born per family. Japan is below that threshold. A projection from several years ago estimated that more than half of the children born in Japan in 2007 are expected to live to the age of 107. Every year, Japan releases an update on its birth rate and, to no one’s surprise anymore, the population has been declining for 14 consecutive years.

The images below speak for themselves. The top represents the elderly, and the bottom the very young. These are population pyramids for Japan in 1965 and the projection for 2065. You might recall from general knowledge that the ideal shape is a pyramid—hence the name—with a wide base indicating a larger proportion of young people (shown in green).

It might not be immediately obvious why population decline is a problem for any country. In fact, some may even see it as a blessing for the planet—environmental degradation comes to mind. From that perspective, I wouldn’t disagree, but that’s a different discussion.

A shrinking population means a higher burden on taxes, social security, and healthcare costs for younger workers. Not to mention, a smaller tax base (fewer taxpayers, in other words) must support the country’s infrastructure—which, by the way, is excellent.

And here’s where one of the most pressing issues arises: labour shortage.

There’s almost not a single day in Japan without hearing the phrase hitode fusoku (labour shortage) on the news.

It’s affecting almost every industry, but the ones shown in the graph below are particularly struggling.

Japan is a global leader in robotics, and its companies are actively working on solutions to fill this labour gap with more robots, of a new generation. We can already see them in use in some places—such as restaurants like the chain Coco’s, that deploys robot waiters—but widespread adoption is still far off.

I’m not talking here about the huge amount of a variety of robots, of different shapes (a lot of static ones) that we see in factories.

We don’t know if the day will come when robots can easily fill any labour gap, or when that might be. What is certain, however, is that Japan urgently needs more human hands.

This is where the opportunity for foreign workers comes in—not just in Japan, but in any developed country facing similar challenges.

However, this post is not about encouraging you to choose Japan as your next work destination. I understand that making such a decision depends on many factors. In fact—and ironically—developed countries have, in recent years, been tightening their immigration policies. There’s no doubt they’re becoming more selective about which foreigners (not tourists) they allow in.

The key is understanding how you can fit in. And a good part of that understanding comes from having comprehensive information about what kind of jobs are specifically available, and rather difficult to fill, and about companies’ expectations in terms of skills.

Of course, your decision will also depend on salaries, living costs, and so on – I know that you already know what kind of information is essential.