Japan’s “Autonomy Settlement Zones”
Japan is proactively dealing with two crises that portend an uncertain future for the nation. The dual crisis pertains to the country’s growing aging population and its declining birth rate. According to population statistics, three large metropolitan areas, Tokyo, Osaka and Aichi Prefecture will experience severe population declines, especially in their outlying areas where young people have moved away to secure employment in their respective urban centers. As a result of worker migration, birth declination and the rapid aging of the resident populations, Japan is encouraging its municipalities to implement progressive policies designed to slow the flow of the exodus of people from the rural areas. On December 26, 2008,… Read More »Japan’s “Autonomy Settlement Zones”