From Tokyo, it takes a four-hour shinkansen ride, another 75 minutes on a local train and then 25 minutes by bus to get to a remote town in Akita Prefecture called Fujisato — one of the towns with the highest proportions of older people anywhere in the world, with more than half of the population age 65 and older.
The demographic challenges faced by Fujisato, a graying ghost town with a population of fewer than 3,000, provide a glimpse into the future for similar towns and villages in decline in Japan and around the world.
Taking a quick walk down the street conveys the town’s fate. Step off the bus in the town center and there’s no one to be seen.
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