In a town just a stone throw from the site of the Group of Seven summit taking center stage next week in Shima, Mie Prefecture, a crisis is afoot: the depopulation of a once vibrant community.
The elderly who live in Daiochofunakoshi, a 20-minute drive from the main venue for the summit on Kashiko Island, fear that in just a matter of years there may be no one left. In a sign of its slow decline into a ghost town, there are private homes surrounding the inlet but hardly any signs of people.
"There are about 700 houses, but nearly half of them are abandoned," said Kiyokazu Yamagiwa, 83, as he stood near the harbor. "There were once boats that came and went in the bay, and excitement from the voices of children playing."