OKINOSHIMA, Shimane Pref. — The town of Okinoshima on Dogo Island, Shimane Prefecture, is trying to stem its depopulation woes by promoting person-to-person exchanges beyond its shores.
The island, about 80 km northeast of the Shimane Peninsula in the Sea of Japan, takes about two hours by ferry to reach and has a population of about 16,000.
With the integration of the town of Saigo and the villages of Tsuma, Goka and Fuse five years ago, the entire island became the town of Okinoshima.