Historicising the discourses of declining fertility and ageing population in east Asia

I will examine the historical development of debates over declining fertility and the ageing population in East Asia over the 20th century. It expands on my collaboration with Prof Yoko Matsubara around the discourses and practices of reproductive health and population policies in Japan, and will involve working with Prof Jin-kyung Park in South Korea and Prof Chia-ling Wu in Taiwan. 

We will run an academic workshop leading to the publication of academic articles, organise a public symposium providing a venue for conversations with policy and care practitioners that lead to a report aimed at non-academic audiences. There will also be a strategic meeting to prepare funding applications.

Our work will contribute to historical research on global population. We will promote a more diverse and inclusive policy discussion and start an application process for a larger-scale research collaboration involving scholars from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.