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October 24, 2025
 

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DEPOPULATION

Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2017
Dying Japanese villages, towns run gas stands to keep vital supply chains going
In Shimukappu, a village in Hokkaido and home to a popular skiing resort, residents are to reopen the sole gas station, which closed four years ago as sales declined.
EDITORIALS
Sep 17, 2017
Gas stations disappearing from rural areas
Gas stations provide vital functions for their community, especially in times of crisis. More needs to be done to preserve their numbers in depopulated areas.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Sep 13, 2017
What will it take to convince Japanese to 'choose family'?
Without a societal model that makes family life appear important and attractive, perhaps it's no wonder that many Japanese people have stopped choosing it.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2017
Depopulated Kochi village suspends idea of direct democracy
Just three months after the village of Okawa, Kochi Prefecture, drew national attention by announcing it might abolish its elected council due to a lack of qualified candidates and introduce direct democracy, the head of the sparsely populated municipality said Monday that talks on the issue would be...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 28, 2017
Graying Japan wants automation, not immigration
A labor shortage could fuel the nation's next innovation boom.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2017
Japan's richest village having hard time luring low-pay workers to process its pricey scallops
Sarufutsu in the far north of Hokkaido is the nation's richest village, thanks to a bounty of scallops pulled from the Sea of Okhotsk.
EDITORIALS
Aug 17, 2017
Regional banks' merger dilemma
Regional banks pursuing mergers to ensure their survival should also scrutinize their operations to find areas where they can improve their performances.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Aug 7, 2017
Japan's shrinking rural population poses a dilemma for democracy
Deep in the Shikoku wilderness, along a steep winding road above a dark green river, sits the tiny village of Okawa. It's located in a region sometimes dubbed by enthusiastic travel writers as the "Tibet of Japan" for its comparative isolation within the mountains.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 6, 2017
Japan Inc. might finally have to fatten paychecks
After years of resisting wage hikes, Japanese companies are starting to recognize the need to lock in staff before they literally disappear.
EDITORIALS
Jul 29, 2017
Land plots with unknown owners
The government needs to take measures to deal more effectively with land plots that remain unregistered.
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Jul 23, 2017
Toyama embarks on compact redesign to foil natural disasters, depopulation at same time
Since early July, floods and landslides caused by heavy rain have forced tens of thousands of people from Kyushu to Tohoku to evacuate, with nearly three dozen deaths confirmed in western Japan. The financial damage to Oita Prefecture alone now stands at over ¥20 billion, prefectural officials announced...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2017
Most Japanese firms see positives in raising retirement age amid tight labor market: poll
More than half of Japanese companies are planning to raise the retirement age of their workforce, a Reuters poll shows, with many saying it would alleviate the labor shortage and harness the expertise of veteran workers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2017
As Japan Inc. inefficiency reigns, some see going paperless as a clear fix
Looking for a job in Japan? You might want to start off by writing a resume by hand and using your hanko (personal seal) to prove its authenticity. If you actually get hired, you may need to get used to faxing documents to clients.
EDITORIALS
Jun 17, 2017
The case of a small Kochi village
Owing to depopulation, small towns across Japan need to find new ways to maintain representative government.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
May 30, 2017
Robots may help defuse demographic time bomb in Japan and Germany
Japan and Germany may be sitting on a ticking demographic time bomb where aging populations begin to drag down economic growth. Good thing they're also prime candidates for robot revolutions.
EDITORIALS
May 27, 2017
Limiting universities in Tokyo
The government needs better ideas than limiting universities' expansion options if it wants to halt the population flow into the Tokyo area.
EDITORIALS
May 6, 2017
The labor drag on the economy
The labor shortage brought on by the shrinking and graying population is starting to have a profound impact on companies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Apr 23, 2017
Kansai leaders grope for ways to keep regional population stable amid projected slide
A projection showing that Japan's population could fall from 127.09 million in 2015 to 88.08 million by 2065 has pushed Kansai leaders harder for more policies and funding to increase the local birthrate, keep younger people from leaving and protect the growing ranks of the elderly.
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2017
Bleak population prospects
The government needs to focus better on upcoming demographics-related problems.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Apr 10, 2017
Japan's population projected to plunge to 88 million by 2065
The population of Japan is expected to plunge to 88.08 million in 2065, a roughly 30 percent fall from the 2015 level, according to a government-affiliated research institute.
For three key Cabinet posts, Takaichi turns to an eclectic trio
Shinjiro Koizumi — son of a former prime minister and rival to the current one — was appointed defense chief after falling short in his bid for the Liberal Democratic Party presidency earlier this month.
Rare female yakuza walks path to redemption in Japan
Retired yakuza Mako Nishimura sorts fallen leaves during a clean-up activity at the Gifu Gokoku shrine in Gifu Prefecture on Sept. 28.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.
The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
New ‘immigration minister’ post signals Takaichi Cabinet’s priorities
Kimi Onoda, economic security minister and minister for harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals, arrives at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan's first female PM promised more women in her Cabinet. She picked two.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi poses with members of the newly formed Cabinet on Tuesday night.
AI-optimized cybercrime increasingly targeting Japan
A recent cyberattack on brewer Asahi Group Holdings resulted in the company suspending shipments.
K-pop idol Chanyeol does J-pop his own way on ‘Hibi’
South Korean singer Chanyeol made his Japanese-language solo debut with the EP “Hibi,” which features six tracks inspired by his love of Japanese music.
In pictures: The day Japan’s glass ceiling finally cracked
Takaichi, surrounded by LDP influencers
London exhibition perhaps sumo's most successful trip abroad
With the recent sumo jaunt to London being essentially a goodwill exercise, <i>rikishi</i> were far more outgoing and relaxed than normal.
Nakatsu keeps its cool as gentrification looms
Shunsuke Takahashi, owner of the cafe Hood by Vargas, says the Osaka neighborhood of Nakatsu feels brighter and calmer with the influx of new businesses.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.
By Thu-Huong Ha and Mike Fu

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo

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