FT on Japanese dog-owning habits

The Financial Times has a lightish-weight piece that uses dog ownership trends (and the services that are springing up to pamper pets) as a window into Japan's ageing society and declining birth rate. Some of the conclusions are doubtless true, though we wonder whether as Japan's economy pulls out of the nosedive the birth rate isn't set for a similar recovery. We would think that the recession has pushed up the age at which couples cross the psychological income threshold that allows them to feel financially secure enough to have kids, but that it should move down again in due course.

Japan is in the midst of a canine frenzy. Last year, the number of dogs kept as pets leapt by 1.5m to 11m, according to the pet food manufacturers' association. Spending on pets - mainly dogs and cats - will this year top Y1,000bn for the first time. In a society with a chronically low birth rate, dogs outnumber babies (of under 12 months) by 10 to one.

[Read: Financial Times article]