Are Changing Demographics the Next Global Power Shift?
China, Japan, and South Korea are aging fast. What does that mean for global stability?
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Mark Schiefelbein / AP
About the Episode
East Asia’s biggest powers are getting older—and smaller. China, Japan, and South Korea are seeing shrinking workforces and aging populations, with fewer young people to fill their armies or their factories. Andrew Oros, author of Asia's Aging Security, and public opinion expert Craig Kafura discuss how population decline is changing East Asia and whether technology could help fill the gap.
About the Speakers
Senior Fellow and the Director, Japan Program, Stimson Center
Dr. Andrew Oros is a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Japan Program at the Stimson Center. Oros is also the Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. His latest book, Asia’s Aging Security (2025), examines how demographic change have and will affect the security environment in the Indo-Pacific region.
Director, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Craig Kafura is the director of public opinion and foreign policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project, and a Pacific Forum Young Leader. At the Council, he coordinates work on public opinion and foreign policy and is a regular contributor to the public opinion and foreign policy blog Running Numbers.
President & Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Dr. Leslie Vinjamuri joined the Council in 2025 as the president and chief executive officer, after previously serving as director of the US and the Americas program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, in London. She brings nearly 30 years of experience working at the intersection of international affairs, research, policy, and public engagement.