Japan’s population is getting older and older, with not a nearly high enough birth rate to replace them, facing rising costs to provide pensions and services for its old folks. The question then arises: what would be the best solution for population control of old people in Japan?
If you don’t have an answer, Yale University professor Yusuke Narita does. Yusuke Narita, a university professor of economics at Yale, said the best solution would be a collective suicide ritual for the elderly.
As you can imagine, his response shocked many people and turned into a controversy.
The catch is that amazingly, this is the line of thought of many young Japanese people for greater economic growth in Japan. Narita has become something of a hero in Japan for making his bold claim.
Please fire Yusuke Narita, the Yale prof who recommends mass suicide of the elderly. Do it NOW. THIS is who you have teaching econ to young minds!??
— RightAngles (@BitskoBitsk) February 13, 2023
Narita’s Ideology
Since December 2021, when Narita gave his first polemic interview on the subject, he has always been called to participate in other interviews.
In one of the interviews, Narita cited the samurai suicide ritual, Seppuku, in which the individual performs self-gutting to kill themselves.
In one interview, there was also mention of the 2019 horror film Midsommar, in which a lady is forced to jump off a cliff as part of a suicide ritual for the elderly, and Narita was asked if he thinks it’s good.
Narita told the questioner it is not something good or bad to do, but rather what is necessary. Look at Canada, for example, where the country is the world leader in euthanasia.
This is what Narita wants, a solution to too many old people who he said bring zero benefits to the economy or technological progress.
Assistant professor of economics at Yale calls for all of Japan’s elderly population to commit mass suicide and, overnight, becomes a celebrity to that country’s youth. Little up-and-coming dictator. pic.twitter.com/8Rp6VNtPgi
— Author Edie Roskam (@EdieRoskam) February 19, 2023
Japan’s Elderly Population
In shaping his beliefs, Narita has also referred to his own life experience. Currently, his old mother has a cost of $755 per month in terms of spending needed to keep her comfortable.
He could save $755 a month if his mother participated in the collective suicide. Even more, less public spending would generate an economic advance for the country.
Currently, Japan is the country with the largest population of elderly people over 65 years of age. Fumio Kishida, Japanese prime minister said Japan is about to a very serious economic crisis.
Narita said in addition to collective suicide, another way out is mandatory assisted suicide. “Mandatory assisted suicide” means killing people and any words you use for it don’t change what it is.
The Bottom Line
If you, like me, find the university professor’s line of thinking repugnant, know that he has an army of young people who share the same thoughts. Narita has over 550,000 followers on Twitter and has become a celebrity in Japan.
He is currently being featured on the cover of Japanese magazines and is starring in campaigns for Japanese energy drinks. We really do live in a dystopian world!
This article appeared in FreshOffThePress and has been published here with permission.
