Okinawa farmers, once finding wealth in pineapples, search for successors
Some people, including teachers, actually quit their jobs and started growing pineapples, such was the wealth to be gained from farming the crop.
The nutria, a kind of large rat native to South America, has expanded its habitat to almost all areas of the prefecture, with municipalities stepping up measures against the animal.
Rural Philippines, long neglected, newly appealing in COVID-19 times
The economic disparity between the nation's rural and urban areas has been a long-standing problem, but the lessons of the pandemic may finally lead to change.
Younger generations are seen to be shunning local assemblies because of members' precarity and low remuneration.
Government to secure 2.3 million people for rural digitalization
The government has earmarked a total of ¥5.7 trillion for digitalization programs under the fiscal 2021 supplementary budget and the fiscal 2022 regular budget plan.
America’s superstar cities aren’t what they used to be
The 10 biggest U.S. cities, while large and growing, now account for less than 7.9% of the country’s population.
KDDI teams up with SpaceX to provide better mobile access in remote areas
Musk's Starlink satellites will connect to 1,200 remote mobile towers in Japan so rural customers can experience urban-level mobile connectivity.
A deserted Akita town offers a glimpse of Japan's demographic future
A lack of jobs is causing younger people to move away, which results in stores and other industries losing business and leaves mainly the retired population.
Japan to list 10,000 workers keen to leave Tokyo in rural revitalization plan
The government aims to "rectify" the Tokyo-centric economy and population to help revive regional areas, according to a draft of its annual economic policy guideline.
Push to go electric could wipe out Japan’s cheap microcars
Electrification can add ¥1 million to ¥2 million to the price tag of a smaller kei vehicle, potentially doubling its price.
Remote Nagasaki island 'getting energy' from Vietnamese students
An island suffering from the effects of depopulation has offered Vietnamese students a discount to study Japanese there.
Cheap, spacious, crowd-free: Rural Japan is having a moment with the foreign community
Laura Blackhall took a risk purchasing an empty house in the Ibaraki countryside. Amid and following a pandemic, though, it's a choice that just might pay off.
