Young consultant Miai Kobayashi is striving to breathe new life into struggling communities.
The 29-year-old quit a job pushing paper in an elite stream of the civil service and joined a think tank, where she took on the task of rejuvenating areas saddled with aging and shrinking populations. This is a problem Japan has, in spades.
Now in her second year as a consultant, Kobayashi administers a range of projects and in particular is working to boost visitors to the Unazuki hot springs spa area of Kurobe, Toyama Prefecture.