The youngest cabinet officer in Taro Aso's just-appointed cabinet is 34-year-old Yuko Obuchi (the youngest in postwar history). She will be "Minister for Birthrate Policy and Gender Equality Issues." That means she's "in charge of tackling Japan's declining population."

Peter Payne gets right to the point with his blog post on the subject: "Hot Japanese Female Politicians, Lack of Children."


I'm not sure how one goes about "tackling" such a problem. At least she's married and has a kid. Though given current fertility rates in Japan (1.3), she's still .8 children behind. Maybe if McCain loses the election, she could recruit Sarah Palin as a consultant.

Labels: demographics, japan, politics