Japan

From Gothpoodle

• Population: 84 million
• Aspects: Very Stable, Powerful, Fifth Wave

Outside of Europe and the United States, Japan is the most prosperous and technologically advanced nation on the planet. Japanese society changed considerably in the course of the 21st century, overcame severe structural problems in its economy, and became a founding member of the prosperous Pacific Rim Alliance. Today Japan is seen by some observers as retiring from the world, and by others as boldly leading the way into a posthuman future.

Japan’s population declined by over 30% during the 21st century, despite the widespread use of geriatric and rejuvenative technologies. The Japanese have simply gotten out of the habit of having children. While Japanese society still values and cherishes children, fewer individual Japanese have childbirth and child-rearing as a personal goal. Meanwhile, the fall in birthrates and the dramatic extension of lifespans has made the average age of the Japanese population higher than that of any other nation. This change in Japanese demographics has also made the country conservative in outlook. Political and social leaders are almost all from the ranks of the very elderly, and they are primarily concerned with maintaining the prosperity which has allowed the distinctive Japanese society to flourish, while remaining somewhat apart from the rest of the world.

The human population of Japan exists largely as a management and leisure class. Ideally, a young Japanese citizen is trained as a manager, creative artist, or scientist, earning shares in one of the nation’s keiretsu as he ages and gains experience. Eventually, he reaches the status of an “elder shareholder,” who does little but manage his investments. Some young Japanese reject this path, preferring to pursue leisure or cultural activities. Most such youths live with parents or other elders. Others live solely on the income generated by inherited investments, or emigrate: the PRA nations, Elandra, Luna, Islandia, Mars, and Yametei Station in the Main Belt are popular choices.

Despite its innate conservatism, modern Japan is not known for Preservationist sympathies. Large sectors of society are openly transhumanist, and Japan has responded to its population decline by producing a national workforce which is mostly artificial. Sapient infomorphs and high-end cybershells are quite common in Japan, dominating all but a few occupations. Japan’s “artificial citizens” have nearly full civil rights and are regarded as an integral part of society; there have even been marriages between SAIs and humans, although these are still uncommon. Indeed, the distinction between infomorph and human citizens has been blurring in recent years, as many Japanese create shadows of themselves in lieu of children, or undergo destructive uploading into cybershell bodies.

At first, only the elderly, eccentric, or seriously infirm became ghosts, but the accelerating tendency of healthy young people to choose to abandon their bodies for uploads is worrying even to many Japanese. Many who could not otherwise afford uploading are making use of a well-organized transhumanist underground that provides unlicensed ghost clinics. However, these establishments often suffer from substandard procedures or equipment, and this can result in would-be ghosts ending up as fragments or worse. Police have shut down a few ghost clinics, but others continue to flourish, operated by idealistic transhumanists, new religions, and criminal cells.

Despite such bumps in the road, most Japanese remain confident in their future as a nation. They believe they can reach a social consensus on issues such as uploading, and not only preserve but perfect Japanese culture in the context of a world where the very definition of “human” is changing.