일본 대중문화 속의 인구감소와 고령화 사회 이미지가 갖는 패러독스: 영화 <플랜 75(PLAN 75)>를 중심으로

Abstract

Aging and population decline are the biggest problems facing Japanese society. If the population decreases as the number of elderly increases, not only could labor shortage in the industrial field become serious but also the human resources to maintain the basic system of the current society might not be met. These dark predictions are reflected not only in the field of research but also in Japanese popular culture. This article attempted to incorporate population-related popular culture into academic discourse, focusing on a film depicting Japan in the future, which aims to reduce the burden of social welfare by removing the elderly, by implementing a system called ‘Plan 75’. The story of being 'removed' from society at a certain age has been shared in East Asia. However, the previous story of 'elimination' was set in a completely different social state of population growth, not population decline. Specifically, in Japan in the 20th century, population growth rather than population decline was considered a problem that hindered the future of the country, and several popular cultural works reflecting that perception were created. In other words, this article examined how this perception had been reflected and reproduced in popular culture along with the discourse at a time when a growing population had been a problem, even though later the population decreased. It is hoped that this article will help Japan and Korea establish countermeasures against population decline and aging to change awareness and expand thinking.