Tag - depopulation

 
 

DEPOPULATION

Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2017
Old age, depopulation decimating A-bomb-spared Kitakyushu
Few places evoke the rise and fall of Japan's industrial might than the head office of the Imperial Steel Works in Kitakyushu. The red brick Meiji Era building was the heart of the nation's first big steelworks. Now it's a UNESCO World Heritage site.
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2017
Mixed recovery in land prices
The latest data on land prices testify to the slow progress in the government's efforts to reverse the population exodus from rural to urban areas and achieve more balanced economic growth nationally.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2017
Millennial movers revive Japanese mountain towns amid depopulation
High-speed broadband. An award-winning brewpub built with recycled materials as part of a "zero waste" mission. An artist-in-residence program. Organic pizza from a wood-fired oven.
EDITORIALS
Mar 11, 2017
Hometown tax donation system
The hometown tax donation program is rife with problems and should be abolished.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Mar 3, 2017
Japan's ex-top cop spearheads campaign to boost immigration
When it comes to public safety and terrorism in Japan, nobody probably knows the situation better than Takaji Kunimatsu.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 13, 2017
Micro M&A advisers riding population trends to success
Boutique advisers specializing in micro mergers and acquisitions for mostly family-run firms are enjoying a boom as the aging, shrinking population puts the squeeze on Japan's small business landscape.
EDITORIALS
Feb 10, 2017
Reversing population flow to Tokyo
The Abe administration's efforts to reduce the flow of people into the greater Tokyo area from other prefectures are not having much success.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2017
Rural Japan's folk traditions fading as residents age
Traditions die hard in the small mountain town of Kanegasaki, whose history includes a series of battles nearly 1,000 years ago that drove an ancestor of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to leave the area for southern Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 9, 2017
Japan's zero growth nightmare
It's the rare economic tale that involves suicides, robots and arms dealers. Welcome to Japan, where science fiction may begin to trump economic fact in ways the global audience has yet to realize.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2017
Sixty traditional folk events halted in rural Japan due to depopulation, aging
Sixty traditional festivals and dances in 20 prefectures designated by local governments as intangible folk culture assets have been ended or suspended due to population declines and the aging of rural communities, a survey has found.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 3, 2017
The slow life in rural Japan is converting more young people
Aging settlements nestled in mountain valleys or fishing villages are drawing more than just retirees who want to live in seclusion.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 29, 2016
Lowest birthrates on record bedevil schools
Record low birthrates in Japan and the United States will raise unprecedented problems for education officials in both countries.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 13, 2016
Japan's hale seniors offer vital help in nursing care of elderly peers
With the rapid aging of Japan's population, healthy older people are providing indispensable support for the nursing care of their fellow seniors.
EDITORIALS
Dec 9, 2016
Pension bill needs more explanation
The government has a duty to explain in detail and in an easy-to-understand manner how the reform bill now in the Diet would contribute to rebuilding the pension system's finances.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 5, 2016
Both pressure and perks used to coax seniors into giving up driving licenses
These days have seen frequent news reports of elderly drivers losing control of their vehicles, slamming into stores, running over pedestrians and traveling in the wrong direction on expressways.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Nov 28, 2016
Half a million societal drop-outs drag on Abe's economic dreams
Nagisa Hirai was an active child who loved playing soccer with the boys. But that early happiness dissipated on her first day at elementary school when she became frightened after being unable to find her classroom.
EDITORIALS
Sep 7, 2016
Relocating government functions
The Abe administration must take a stronger lead in pushing forward the decentralization of some national government functions if it is really serious about pursuing the project.
EDITORIALS
Sep 3, 2016
Making the most of vacant homes
Vacant homes could greatly boost the short supply of inexpensive public housing.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Aug 30, 2016
Collective homes a solution for those in Japan who don't want to live alone
When her mother passed away, a 59-year-old single woman was struck with a sense of absolute loneliness.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 27, 2016
Single mothers courted to plug Japan's local labor gaps
While some employers are unsympathetic to the circumstances of single parents, others see them as a solution rather than a problem.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals