• Shore of success: The port and high school (foreground) on Nakanoshima, one of the Oki Islands. Threatened with closure, increasing student numbers at the school was one of the top priorities of the Miryokuka Project, which was set up to reform the economy and education in the island town of Ama. | KYODO
    Shore of success: The port and high school (foreground) on Nakanoshima, one of the Oki Islands. Threatened with closure, increasing student numbers at the school was one of the top priorities of the Miryokuka Project, which was set up to reform the economy and education in the island town of Ama. | KYODO
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In her Aug. 26 Japan Lite column, Amy Chavez described the demographic crisis on the Seto Inland Sea island of Shiraishi, where the population is shrinking and aging as young people seek out opportunities on the mainland.

The writer paints a depressing picture of rural depopulation, which is gradually hollowing out communities across Japan. Chavez comes to the conclusion that “the government can help . . . but it is ultimately the responsibility of the communities to help themselves.”

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