Japan is one of the world’s safest countries. So why do so many people feel uneasy? This week, @AlexktMartin takes a look at crime, perception and the growing gap between data and fear. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/12/japan/society/japan-safety-security-crime/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #demographics #crime #tokyo #adachiward #saitama #depopulation #elderly #expats
Japan Railways Group companies are set to continue talks with local communities in 2026 on the fate of loss-making rural lines. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/03/japan/jr-unprofitable-lines/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #jreast #jrwest #jrhokkaido #jrkyushu #depopulation #rurallife #rail #jr
In a model project by the internal affairs ministry, municipalities in the countryside are collaborating with university students from urban areas in order to leverage young people's ideas for regional revitalization. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/02/japan/society/rural-municipalities-students/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #localgovernment #students #wakayama #ehime #depopulation
Japan is the fastest aging nation in the world. Now that we're closer to 2050 than 2000, how will that affect the generation now coming of age? https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/29/japan/society/japan-2050-predections-depopulation/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #depopulation #aging #demographics #teens #elderly #comingofageday #lifeexpectancy #rurallife #women039sissues
Japan’s efforts to to halt rural depopulation and revive its countryside have failed because jobs alone are insufficient, requiring a broader focus on quality of life, productivity and realistic population goals. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/editorials/2025/12/26/japans-regional-revitalization-policy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #editorials #depopulation #japaneseeconomy #meti #robots #localgovernment #rurallife #tech
Okinawa Prefecture’s image of “islands blessed with children” might not be entirely accurate when it comes to its remote islands and isolated communities, which struggle with acute depopulation. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/22/japan/society/okinawa-remote-islands-depopulation/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #okinawa #population #depopulation #rurallife #localgovernment
A record amount in unclaimed inheritances ended up in Japanese government coffers last year. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/08/japan/japan-isolated-elderly/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #elderly #aging #population #depopulation
Amid its war with Russia, Ukraine is staring down the barrel of a population collapse. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/12/05/world/society/ukraine-population-collapse/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #society #russiaukrainewar #children #depopulation
Three decades after a bad debt crisis in Japan forced a wave of mergers that created its mega lenders, the focus now is on consolidation in the nation’s $3 trillion regional banking industry. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/11/25/companies/rate-hikes-banks-merger/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #mergers #banks #depopulation #regionalbanks
The education ministry plans to establish a fund for high school education reform in each of the 47 prefectures, totaling some ¥300 billion. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/16/japan/high-school-reform-funds/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #highschools #mext #education #depopulation #students
At a meeting of governors from across Japan and South Korea, officials discussed issues affecting both countries and the need for future cooperation. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/13/japan/politics/japan-south-korea-cooperation-importance/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #southkorea #southkoreajapanrelations #depopulation
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has set up a support organization, in cooperation with local governments, to accelerate robot adoption by small and midsize enterprises in rural areas. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/10/31/companies/rural-companies-robots/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #meti #robots #manufacturing #depopulation #localgovernment
The deputy director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department urged Japan to formulate a concrete plan for fiscal consolidation, adding a consumption tax cut should be avoided. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/10/24/economy/imf-japan-fiscal-health/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #imf #jgb #japaneseeconomy #depopulation
As the population of Spain's rural regions continues to fall, raising fears that smaller towns and villages may eventually vanish, public and private actors are experimenting with ways to reverse the demographic decline. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/12/world/society/spain-rural-regions-revitalize/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #society #spain #depopulation #tourism #rurallife #cities
The Kobe Municipal Government is mulling a nonstatutory municipal tax on owners of vacant or underused units in high-rise condominiums in central districts of the city. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/10/japan/kobe-eyes-tax-on-unused-condo-rooms/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #kobe #taxes #realestate #depopulation
East Japan Railway has purchased from Goldman Sachs Group several floors in an office building connected directly to Tokyo Station, paying more than ¥50 billion. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/09/09/companies/goldman-office-jr-east/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #jreast #goldmansachs #rail #tokyo #realestate #depopulation
Japan is considering next steps for the new "furusato jūmin" (hometown resident) registration system to encourage people to get more involved in areas where they don't live. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/07/japan/japan-hometown-resident-system-regional-revitalization/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #rurallife #furusatonozei #depopulation
Japan’s financial regulator is urging regional banks to help local businesses secure equity funding necessary for further growth, as part of the country’s broader drive to revitalize rural economies. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/09/03/companies/rural-banks-help-companies-get-equity-funding/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #fsa #regionalbanks #investments #depopulation
The government has announced a system to support a new regional cooperation framework across prefectures, with grants and subsidies to help local governments and businesses pursue regional development initiatives. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/02/japan/politics/cross-prefectural-cooperation-support/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #shigeruishiba #depopulation #tourism #localgovernment
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda said he expects a tight labor market to keep upward pressure on wages, reflecting his view that stable inflation is set to take hold. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/08/24/economy/boj-tight-market-wages/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #economy #kazuoueda #boj #japaneseeconomy #wages #jobs #inflation #foreignworkers #depopulation