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Sustainable Energy and Economics in an Aging Population

Lessons from Japan

  • Book
  • © 2020

Overview

Authors:
  1. Kozo Torasan Mayumi

    1. The Kyoto College of Graduate Studies for Informatics, Kyoto, Japan

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  • Considers the complex interactions between and challenges posed by fossil and renewable energy source availability, demographic change, and static economies
  • Focuses on the specific challenges in Japan before broadening the scope to the global picture
  • Will be of interest to policymakers, economists, researchers, and all those concerned with environmental sustainability and equitable societies

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Energy (LNEN, volume 76)

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Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
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  2. Introduction: ‘Paradigm Is a Tacit Agreement not to Ask Certain Questions’ (Allen 2003)

    • Kozo Torasan Mayumi
    Pages 1-19

  3. Scarcity, Promethean Technology, and Future Perspectives for Fossil Fuels and Uranium

    • Kozo Torasan Mayumi
    Pages 21-49

  4. Credibility of Scientific Analysis, and Assessment of PV Systems and Ethanol Production

    • Kozo Torasan Mayumi
    Pages 51-77

  5. Beyond the Conventional View: Reconsidering Money, Credit and Interest

    • Kozo Torasan Mayumi
    Pages 79-97

  6. Capital Interest, the Financial Sector and Debt Expansion: Toward a More Sustainable and Equitable World Order

    • Kozo Torasan Mayumi
    Pages 99-122

  7. Aging Population, Vacant Dwellings and the Compatibility Problem Between Human and Exosomatic Populations

    • Kozo Torasan Mayumi
    Pages 123-141

  8. Reconsidering Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery in Japan: Searching for a Responsible Development Pathway

    • Kozo Torasan Mayumi
    Pages 143-167

  9. Budget Deficit Problems and Reexamining Soddy’s Schemes of Compound and Simple Redemption

    • Kozo Torasan Mayumi
    Pages 169-187

  10. Collapsing Social Security Systems in Japan: Pensions, Medical Care and Elderly Nursing Care

    • Kozo Torasan Mayumi
    Pages 189-205

  11. Conclusion: An Alternative Vision for the Future of Japan and the World

    • Kozo Torasan Mayumi
    Pages 207-213

  12. Back Matter

    Pages 215-220
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Keywords

About this book

This book discusses current challenges in Japan, focusing on the nation’s rapidly aging population and low birth rate, along with persistent public bond issues with heavy interest payments, the potential collapse of social security systems, and income inequality, as well as the global picture. 




In turn, it examines the accessibility of global fossil fuels and feasibility of large-scale solar energy use. A new theory of money, interest, and capital is put forward, together with a proposal for an alternative system of international monetary cooperation, to promote a more sustainable and equitable world. Specific topics discussed include 




• the inverted population pyramid, due to the dramatic change in human life spans and declining birth rates; 
• the rapidly shrinking workforce, aging population, and declining GDP share sourced from industry; 
• disproportionate debt expansion due to public bond issues and coping with a persistent budget deficit; 
• the potential collapse of social security systems combined with income inequality; and 
• how to mitigate these bio-economic predicaments.   




Global Energy Sources offers an essential guide for policymakers, economists, researchers, and all those concerned with establishing a sustainable and equitable society from both energy and monetary perspectives. Further, it will be of interest to readers around the world, as the lessons learned from Japan are crucial to other developed societies that may eventually face the same types of challenge. 


Authors and Affiliations

  • The Kyoto College of Graduate Studies for Informatics, Kyoto, Japan

    Kozo Torasan Mayumi

About the author

Kozo Mayumi graduated from the Graduate School of Engineering at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Physics of Kyoto University. Between 1984 and 1988 he studied bioeconomics at Department of Economics of Vanderbilt University under Prof. Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen’s supervision. Since then, Mayumi has been working in the field of energy analysis, ecological economics and sustainability issues. Mayumi is a full professor at Tokushima University, Japan, and currently editorial board members of Ecological Economics, International Journal of Ecological Economics and Statistics, Journal of Economic Structures, and Ecosystem Services. Together with Dr. Mario Giampietro and other three researchers Mayumi started a biennial international workshop (Advances in Energy Studies) in 1998 where many distinguished scholars in the field of energy analysis took part. Mayumi is the first recipient of Georgescu-Roegen Awards (Unconventional Thinking Category) at the 13th DelhiSustainable Development Summit in 2013.

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