Disappearing Japan

The New York Times has a sad article on the fate of a tiny village near the Sea of Japan which has seen its population dwindle to eight over the years. Every resident who remains is over sixty, and they’re resigned to the fact that there’s no chance of the village ever coming back from the dead. They decided instead on a different approach - they sold the village to a waste disposal company who will, if everything goes according to plan, turn the site into a landfill. With the money from the sale, the villagers intend to move out, some to rejoin family members enticed away to big cities for jobs, others just to relocate somewhere while they live out their last days.

Its a pity that this happened, but its not unusual for villages to disappear, especially in a country where all the jobs are to be had in or around the cities. Space is at a premium in Japan, with families in the cities crammed in to tiny apartments, paying exorbitant rents. Meanwhile, living space in the countryside is scheduled to be bulldozed and covered with rubbish.

There’s so much wrong with that picture.

Monday, May 1st, 2006 Japan, Japanese News, Noteworthy Trackback URL for this entry