Organic Sources for the Revitalization of Rural Japan

Abstract

The population and society of Sado Island are declining at an alarming rate. Much of this decline has been due to endemic outward migration of the island's younger people to Japan's large urban areas in search of opportunities for tertiary education and salaried employment. Even though opportunities to find work in Sado do exist, these are in occupations that younger people currently find unattractive. Moreover, education in Sado currently does not serve local circumstances and needs well, being organised primarily by and for the urban centre. This research starts by presenting an overview of the issues surrounding population, education, and employment on Sado, and then moves to presenting a case study of the life and work of Sado Island's craft-potters. The article uses statistical data from official bodies and unstructured interviews with the island's residents as empirical support for its theoretical discussions. The article concludes by hinting at a possible stabilization of the population through a combination of educational reform, craft-based employment re-generation, and taking advantage of emerging trends in world tourism.

A life cycle analysis of nature-based tourism policy in Japan

“…Here the stagnation reflected the broader process of migration away from rural areas in search of tertiary education and jobs in the metropolis (Matanle 2006). Against this backdrop of radical demographic change, NBT was now acting as an inadvertent driver of change, with infrastructure development paradoxically accelerating the polarization of rural supply and urban demand.…”

Culture driven policies and revaluation of local cultural assets: A tale of two cities, Otaru and Yūbari

“…The interest of the government was that of supporting a local economy potentially exposed to a deep crisis as a consequence of rapid and dramatic de-industrialization, with a fragile economic background and undergoing an equally dramatic decrease in its resident population as it was the case with Y ubari e and tourism was generally believed to be the most appropriate specialization for a city with these characteristics (see e.g. Matanle, 2006). From these preliminary remarks, however, it is already clear that the motivations for the development of a tourism industry in Y ubari were contradictory and instrumental from the start e tourism was meant as a solution to a problem, but the emphasis was on the problem rather than on the nature of the solution itself.…”

Design Recycle meets the product introduction hall: Craft, locality and agency in northern Japan

“…This chapter contextualizes these actions within the longer history of centralized promotion of local culture and industry, but the main focus is to articulate how industry actors in Yamagata have interacted with these external actors and their concept of 'local craft' (Klien 2010). In doing so the object is also to displace the view to 'the regions' and to argue for an expanded understanding of new craft economies as formed of old and new actors alike (Edgerton 2006;Mohlman 1999;Pollard 2002;Matanle 2006;Teasley 2013).…”