A panel of Japanese business leaders and experts say public and private organizations should cooperate to slow declines in the number of people, targeting a stable population of 80 million in 2100.

Japan currently has about 124 million people.

The health and welfare ministry's National Institute of Population and Social Security Research projects the number of people will drop below 100 million in 2056, and then to 63 million in 2100. The estimates are based on 2020 national census results.

The group announced their proposed population targets Tuesday. Members include former head of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mimura Akio and Japan Post Holdings President Masuda Hiroya.

They say if Japan's population continues to fall at the current pace, the decline will make it impossible to maintain various social and economic systems. They warn that rural municipalities would disappear one after another due to depopulation.

The group proposes that by 2060 Japan should increase the average number of children born per woman to 2.07, which is necessary to maintain a population. The rate was 1.26 in 2022.

The panel says this way, Japan could build a society with growth power, maintaining the population at 80 million in 2100.

The group has called for the Cabinet to set up the population strategy taskforce. It also says a national conference of volunteer members, including experts, business leaders and local authorities, should be established to discuss the issue from comprehensive and long-term perspectives.