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With a population that is aging faster than any other in the world, Japan faces serious public finance problems, particularly when it comes to tax and social security issues. The structural reforms that are urgently needed to accommodate the impending demographic change are the central theme of this book, which is the first work of its type to look at the Japanese tax and social security systems through a life-cycle general equilibrium simulation model. The author aims to establish guidelines for fiscal reform in Japan's graying society and uses such advanced modeling techniques to permit the calculation of the effects of alternative tax policies on capital accumulation and economic welfare. The author also examines the impact of progressive expenditure taxation, coming to the novel conclusion that this form of taxation may hold the key to overcoming the large welfare loss Japan faces as its society ages under the current tax system

Abstract
In this study, reforms on childcare allowances and public pensions are examined in an extended lifecycle simulation model with endogenous fertility. A slight increase in family policies such as childcare allowances leads to increases in the total population but the magnitude of change is not large. As childcare allowances increase, however, the total population is cumulatively and progressively augmented, resulting in substantial growth in the total population and national income in the long run. Furthermore, from a long-term perspective, increases in childcare subsidies or decreases in public pension benefits are potentially Pareto-improving.