Japan's Shrinking Regions in the 21st Century: Contemporary Responses to Depopulation and Socioeconomic Decline
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Japan's Shrinking Regions in the 21st Century: Contemporary Respo ...

Chapter 1:  Introducing Japan’s Shrinking Regions*
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identified in Europe include the following (Commission of the European Communities, 2005, 2006, 2007; Bucher & Mai, 2005; Council of European Municipalities and Regions, 2008):

  • Potential for the intensification of regional disparities as a result of the decidedly uneven spatial character of demographic change and potential for revitalisation.
  • Pressure on general services, which exist in low density in rural regions, and difficulty providing essential community services in the short term and maintenance and upgrade of infrastructure in the long term.
  • Pressure on health care and social services in areas where caring for older people occupies an expanding share of overall health and care budgets.
  • Changes in educational provision as smaller numbers of children lead to restructuring of educational systems, including school closures.
  • Changes in transportation in areas where decreasing populations lead to reduced demand for and therefore provision of public transport. Concurrently, a rising proportion of older people, many without access to cars, means continued demand for such services from vulnerable individuals, with the consequence that many will experience feelings of isolation.
  • Changes in housing needs as ageing populations contribute to trends towards smaller households, particularly single and two-person households, while causing an adjustment to the specific needs of older households.
  • A challenge to the heretofore dominant growth paradigm in spatial planning, along with planning for shrinkage, and the adoption of a new paradigm that places novel demands on urban restructuring, such as finding new uses for abandoned land and buildings and encouraging the responsible conversion of disused land into environmentally sustainable ecosystems.

    • Ageing is one of the more apparent phenomena associated with depopulation. In 2002 the United Nations Population Division (UNPD)