What about that is a contradiction? Either through public services such as social security, or traditional family values (which are obviously strong in Japan), the elderly invariably become a burden on younger generations. On the most basic level, when the day comes that my father can no longer work for his food, he will pull from social resources and I will personally be responsible for his welfare. A healthy economic landscape is prepared to receive such a burden and cycle it indefinitely through the generations.<p>A population of elders with a disproportionately small pool of working-aged adults throws this balance out, and is obviously a threat. If you combine that with the fact that those few who are capable of working to support the older generation are without question losing their jobs to automation, I don&#x27;t see how the combined effect isn&#x27;t an obvious and looming threat.<p>When you say that those two things are a contradiction, are you suggesting that the commentator is incorrectly pointing out that this is a contradiction when it isn&#x27;t, or are you saying that the commentator is mentioning these two things, and you yourself think they are a contradiction?