Day+8+-+３月２１日

** Shoshika **
 * 少子化 **

**Introduction** Shoshika is a serious social issue in Japan now. There are several reasons why the birth rate started to decline. The Shoshika epidemic poses serious socioeconomic problems. In this lesson, you will research, analyze and understand the issues and finally evaluate the current policies and propose possible solutions.

**Questions**
 * What was the birth rate in 2008?
 * Which year holds the highest birth rate?
 * What is the difference in the number of children between the years of the highest birth rate and the lowest?
 * What are the factors of the current lower birth rate?　(What causes Shoshika problems?)
 * What kind of problems are caused by Shoshika?
 * What kind of national and local governmental policies are proposed/ implemented?

** Tasks ** You will research causes of the Shoshika issues and current policies. You will also research other social issues caused by Shoshika. At the end of the lesson, you will post your findings and possible solutions on Wiki and share them with your classmates.

<span style="font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;">**Procedures and Resources** <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Read the following sites and do the tasks below to deepen your knowledge/ understanding about Shoshika. You will work in a group of 3 students.
 * Step 1**

1. 2008年の出生率は何でしたか. 2．出生率が一番高かったのは、何年でしたか. 3．出生率が一番高かった時と低かった時の子供の数の違いは、何人ですか. <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; padding-right: 10px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; url(http: //www.wikispaces.com/i/a.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 10px;">Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">(Look at the graph of page 3, titled "The falling birthrate and the start of population decline")

4．少子化の原因は何ですか. 5．少子化によってどんな問題が起こりますか. <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; padding-right: 10px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; url(http: //www.wikispaces.com/i/a.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 10px;">Japan Times <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; url(http: //www.wikispaces.com/i/a.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 10px;">BBC News <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; url(http: //www.wikispaces.com/i/a.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 10px;">[|こどもニュースウィークリー　人口減少社会]

<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">6. 国や自治体の少子化対策には、どのようなものがありますか. <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; padding-right: 10px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; url(http: //www.wikispaces.com/i/a.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 10px;">Japan Times