Demographics

Two trends in developed, first-world countries point toward aging populations. The first: increased lifespans caused by superior medicine. The second: decreased birthrates due to greater affluence, female employment, birth control, etc. Eventually, this will logically lead to a decline in national population, an even faster decline in the workforce as the number of dependents (old useless dudes) rises. What is to be done?

Countries such as Britain, France, and our own United States have chosen more-or-less by default to counter this with a wave of poor, fast-breeding immigrants. Thus, the birthrate spikes (it's actually rising again), life expectancies drop, and the whole country gets a figurative shot in the arm. The problem with this is that a rise in crime accompanies the immigrants, owing to their generally lower social class/wealth, along with a different culture. Backlashes strike out against the immigrants, crying out about the decay of the relevant culture and threats to national security. Quite a mess! Not ideal at all.

Russia is also facing the problem. They're trying another approach: paying women to have babies. This will, admittedly, probably help the birthrate, but it's a sub-ideal solution. Elsewhere, there are poor people overpopulating other countries. They might love to come and get money! (Though, admittedly, Russia itself isn't that well off. Despite newfound oil wealth.) The Earth is hella overburdened with people - and the Russian government is paying to add to the tally? Something seems wrong there.

The Japanese have no more love for immigrants than the Russians. But they wouldn't pay people to have babies - even though they're furthest along the aging-population curve of any major nation. That would be undignified! Plus, they're a little bit cramped. So they have a better plan. Robotics! They're leading the world in development of practical robots, designed to help the elderly. Robots will feed them, drive them around, do everything for them. An increasingly elderly and helpless population will be surrounded by an ever-increasing, every-more-competent swarm of robots!

The Japanese will be in safe hands under their new robot overlords.