Abstract: In the past 20 years, Japan’s countermeasures against the declining birthrate and aging population have been problem-oriented. It has undergone three changes and achieved initial success. With the rise of a new round of industrial revolution, Japan has once again converted its countermeasures to solve the population issues. It has adopted the principle of population stability and productivity improvement. It has changed the goal of population growth to the goal of talent growth. And it has also incorporated population policies into Super Smart Society vision. Drawing on Japan’s experience, China needs to accurately grasp the status quo of the population, expand its talent pool, optimize its industrial structure, and make full preparations to meet the enormous challenges of declining birthrate and aging society.

Key words: the declining birthrate and aging population crisis, countermeasures against the declining birthrate and aging population, technology development strategy, policy transformation