Japan is experiencing a big increase in its birthrate…of dogs, that is. While Japan’s rate of human births continues to sag, with just 7.87 babies born per 1000 persons, compared with 14.4, 12.4, 12.0 in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, respectively, there are plenty of dogs to go round — about 12 million of them according to an annual study of a pet food industry group that was recently released. Dogs are changing Japan in subtle ways, something I noticed when I saw that a nearby home center had installed a dog run in its parking lot, essentially a fenced off grassy space where dogs who have come shopping with their owners can run, jump and play with other dogs. If you’re a cat person (we’d qualify, as we have six in our house), you’ll have plenty of company in Japan, too, as there are another 12.5 million cats living in Japanese homes. All told, there are dogs and cats in Japan than humans under the age of 15 here — Japan is truly a paradise for pets.
