Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) recently unveiled a bold proposal to take in 10 million immigrants between now and 2050, so that they will constitute 10% of the national population by that date. The idea is to make Japan a multi-ethnic society, and infuse the labour force with young people to offset the country’s demographic decline.

Given how ethnically homogenous Japan is, the LDP’s plan is certainly dramatic. At present, foreigners make up only 1.6% of the population, compared to around 10% in France, Germany and the UK. In those countries, immigration has become a politically sensitive issue, and this is bound to happen in Japan too.

So, can Japan get its 10 million? There are no shortages of countries in Asia that Japan could draw from. There is the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh, all of which have massive and youthful populations, and there is no reason why Japan cannot look further afield. Meanwhile, Japan also has the option of exporting its over 65s to the Philippines, where costs are much lower.

However, I suspect that the 10 million plan may be too ambitious. For a start, there is bound to be a backlash from the public in time, as there has been in Western countries. Secondly, there is the fact that all the immigrants will have to be trained in the Japanese language – no easy task given that there are at least 2,000 characters in everyday use. Thirdly, the immigrants may simply opt to go to Australia, Canada, the USA, and even China, where there is more space.

So, what does Japan do if it cannot get the immigrants it needs? As a first step the government needs to do more to increase female participation in the labour force. This is only 67% for 25-54 year old women, according to the OECD – well below 80+% in Sweden/Norway. This will require better childcare facilities and a change of attitudes among employers. If that cannot be done, there is little alternative but robots. Skeptics say that robots don’t pay taxes. Maybe. But they also don’t need to be paid, don’t need pensions, don’t need homes, etc… etc…

The bottom line is that the outcome of the battle between multiethnicity, female emancipation, and robo-technology will determine whether Japan can prosper in the 21st century.