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Insights
22-Aug-19 Once a cashless pioneer, Japan is now lagging behind countries such as Sweden and Korea on electronic payments, because of its aging population, low crime and virtually no counterfeiting. Four out of five purchases are still made with cash. [image: AFP / Toshifumi Kitamura]
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Insights
03-Jun-19 The 'older' Asian countries (eg. Japan) spend 7-10% of GDP on healthcare. Given its older population, China’s expenditure will need to increase to those levels, suggesting that healthcare spending would grow at 9.3% to reach USD1.7 tn by 2028. [image: Global Demographics]
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Insights
22-Jan-19 The growing reliance on desalinated water in the Middle East underlines the importance of effective management, with knock-on implications for energy and water security. Desalination accounts for 3% of the water supply but 5% of its energy consumption. [image: Modern Diplomacy]
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Insights
28-Dec-18 Japan suffered the largest natural population decline in its history in 2018. The growing number of elderly will put unprecedented strain on health and welfare services, with additional services to be partly funded by a sales tax increase in Oct-19. [image: iStock]
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Insights
09-Jul-18 The number of Chinese couples visiting Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries for fertility treatment has been rising since 2016, when the Beijing government relaxed the country's one-child policy. 27,000 Chinese tourists visited Thailand for medical purposes in 2016. [image: Bangkok Post]
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