Quote:
Originally Posted by RedMattis
According to the table on page 10 a TL8 civlisation has 280 people per square mile. However Japan has 874 people per square mile.
While Japan is dependent on imports they were less so in the past, and from glancing at articles on the topic it sounds like they were more self-sufficient in the past, and could theoretically support their population if they switched gears.
|
In 1940, about 20% of the rice and 50% of the soybeans consumed in Japan were imported from abroad. The average daily calories between 1911 and 1931 were 2,200 - a weight loss diet if you are doing light physical work, permanent hunger if you are doing heavy physical work.
"Switching gears" would have been possible; the system in use was antiquated and inefficient. But it would have required sweeping radical reforms - and even then, I'm not sure it would have been enough: the hard limit is the incredibly small percentage of fertile land. Note that's covered on p. 27: Infertile Territory.