List of Figures

ix

List of Maps

xv

List of Photos

xvii

List of Tables

xxi

List of Abbreviations and Acronyms

xxv

Note on Romanised Japanese

xxvii

Acknowledgments

xxix

Prologue

1

Part I Impacts and Implications

15

Chapter 1: Introducing Japan’s Shrinking Regions

17

Chapter 2: Setting Japan in the Global Context: Shrinking Regions in the European Union

39

Chapter 3: The Historical Arc of Regional Shrinkage in Japan

83

Chapter 4: Contrasting Experiences of Growth and Decline in Regional Japan

133