A remote island in southwestern Japan is hoping that inviting young Vietnamese to come to a subsidized school to study Japanese will help it cope with an outflow of its own young people to elsewhere in the country.
Around 90 percent of high school graduates from the city of Goto on Fukue Island move away to pursue higher education or jobs, leaving the island with a graying population, local officials say.
The arrival of the first batch of 16 Vietnamese students in April was a step toward filling that gap, with the newcomers quickly winning over local residents.