The smart decision 20 years ago that saved a Japanese town
Akiyas are perhaps the most visible sign of the country’s ageing population, which has shrunk for 16 consecutive years as the fertility rate has collapsed and deaths have outpaced births. Hundreds of rural villages are at risk of disappearing in coming decades. There are about 9 million akiyas across Japan, even in major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, but you need to venture only an hour or two outside metro areas to find them in abundance. In the village of...
