Boosting Japan’s Regions

As young people from Japan’s regions continue to migrate to big cities, birthrates are declining, the average age increasing, and population dwindling in the areas they leave behind. Prime Minister Abe Shinzō has set regional revival as a key policy area to address, but centralized government initiatives will hardly be enough to keep nonurban communities alive. This series examines some local efforts and considers viable options to ensure a brighter future for those communities.