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July 03, 2026
 

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DEPOPULATION

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 29, 2026
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
Faced with the same demographic pressures confronting other towns, Yokoze is experimenting with a different approach.
Japan’s population decline continues to accelerate despite some modest positive signs, highlighting the need for broader social, economic and cultural changes to raise the birth rate.
EDITORIALS
Jun 5, 2026
A bleak prognosis for Japan’s demographic future
The most recent government statistics show fertility rates hitting record lows — again.
Japan's population saw the largest decline on record in 2025, but Tokyo continued to mark a rise in the number of residents.
JAPAN
May 29, 2026
Japan’s 2025 census reflects steepest fall in population on record, data shows
Preliminary data shows the nation’s headcount shrank 2.5%, the third straight decline in the nationwide survey conducted every five years.
Hiroya Masuda (center), head of the Forum for the Future We Choose, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in March.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
May 27, 2026
Deeply entrenched gender roles a key factor in Japan’s low birthrate
A survey has found that many women in rural areas feel constrained by social norms, which could lead to a demographic crisis if left unaddressed.
Train cars at Toyama Chihou Tetsudou's Etchu-Funahashi Station in Toyama Prefecture
JAPAN
May 14, 2026
Local railway operator offers chances to stream original music
The Toyama company is pushing the project forward as part of local revitalization efforts.
The child population, down 350,000 from a year earlier, again fell to the lowest level since 1950.
JAPAN
May 4, 2026
Japan’s child population down for 45th straight year
The child population, down 350,000 from a year earlier, again fell to the lowest level since 1950.
The school's flag is returned to the city during a closing ceremony at Shimoibano Elementary School in Osaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on Feb. 14.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
May 4, 2026
Shrinking city in Miyagi Prefecture braces for uncertain future
Faced with school closures and declining births, the city of Osaki is struggling to find a way forward.
Shingo Takatsu (left) and Soichi Tojima check a crop surrounded by a fence in Oda, Shimane Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Apr 27, 2026
Shimane farming districts face onslaught from rising monkey population
Japanese macaques have become used to humans, stealing persimmons and daikons even with people standing nearby.
Companies in Japan are working to meet rising demand for quick meal solutions driven by the increase in dual-income households.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 21, 2026
Companies in Japan offer kids’ meals to help ease burden of working households
Working parents are ready to spend more money on food that’s easy to prepare so they can spend more time with their children, a developer at one food company said.
The National Police Agency has issued guidelines calling for resource sharing and more flexibility to address rising specialized and international crimes and police staffing challenges.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 2, 2026
Japan’s police agency to promote reform to tackle more specialized, global crime
The guidelines call for equipment and personnel to be shared across police departments and for a review of the division of roles between headquarters and stations.
Wakkanai Shinkin Bank’s headquarters in Wakkanai, Hokkaido
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2026
A tiny bank runs dry of borrowers as Japan’s population shrinks
Many rural banks are struggling, but for a small credit union in Hokkaido, the situation is extreme.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 23, 2026
‘Alone in Japan’ travels towns in decline and talks to the people left
While Japan’s depopulation is a much discussed issue, Tom Feiling’s book “Alone in Japan” tackles the topic face to face as he travels to remote parts of Japan.
Over the past 15 years, a spate of restoration projects in Onomichi has emerged due to demographic decline, a surplus of vacant hillside homes and growing interest from visitors drawn to the town’s historic character.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Mar 23, 2026
In Onomichi, urbanists redesign public life via vacant homes
Since 2019, a volunteer renovation and reconstruction project has been reimagining community and bringing new energies to a seaside town in Hiroshima Prefecture.
The last two students at Yumoto Junior High School attend their graduation ceremony in Ten-ei Village, Fukushima Prefecture, in March 2023.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 19, 2026
We have to stop discussing Japan’s birthrate like this
Declining Asian fertility is often framed negatively: a backlash against a crushing society. When it happens in the U.S., though, it’s young women taking control over their lives.
Shogo Tsuchiya, the deputy secretary-general of the Futaba Project, provides consultations to people interested in relocating to the town of Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture. Amid a housing shortage, Tsuchiya himself couldn’t find a home in the town.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Mar 16, 2026
Amid housing shortage, migration stalls in disaster-hit Fukushima towns
Approximately 19,000 houses were demolished using state funds as part of reconstruction efforts but construction of new houses has been limited.
An outlet of Aeon supermarket in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, sells a variety of goods, including over-the-counter drugs and local specialties, as well as fresh and prepared foods.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2026
Supermarkets key to evacuees’ return to Fukushima communities
Creating an environment in which people can easily buy fresh foods and daily necessities is essential for attracting new residents, too.
At 85 years old, Makiko Kimura still works about four times a month at a local snack shop — not to make money in retirement but as a way to stay in touch with her community.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 7, 2026
Working overtime: ‘Silver Jinzai’ centers keep Japan’s seniors employed
With about 3 in 10 adults currently over the retirement age, community agencies keeping seniors in part-time work bring both personal and economic benefits.
Former Government Pension Investment Fund President Masataka Miyazono joined Hulic last year as an adviser to focus on agricultural investments as the sector faces a rapidly aging and shrinking workforce.
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2026
Former chief of $2 trillion pension fund joins developer growing tomatoes
Masataka Miyazono aims to help make Japan’s agricultural sector more productive in order to boost sustainability in the country.
Hiroshima Gov. Mika Yokota speaks during an interview in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Jan. 27.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2026
Hiroshima governor pushes for woman-empowered workplaces to boost rural areas
Gov. Mika Yokota wants to address the issue of more young women leaving the countryside for cities.
Koichi Tanigawa, head of the Futaba Medical Center, says "there is clearly a shortage of hospitals" in the Futaba region in Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Mar 2, 2026
Medical care key to evacuees’ return to Fukushima 15 years on
In Fukushima Prefecture, the number of medical institutions has plunged from 132 to 47 since the disaster.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Why is the yen so weak and what can Japan do about it?
Japan spent ¥11.7 trillion ($73 billion) between late April and late May to prop up the weak yen.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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