Rethinking Japan’s depopulation problem: Reflecting on over 30 years of research with Chizu Town, Tottori Prefecture and the potential of SMART Governance

Abstract

This paper addresses the “depopulation problem” (kaso mondai) in Japan, but from a perspective that has so far been lacking in the literature. First, it points out that the essence of the problem lies in the continuous decline and deterioration of the proactive commitment of “small, lively communities” (ikita chiisana komyunitii). Second, it discusses how this situation can be reversed and the ways that these communities‘ potential for overcoming these challenges can be enhanced and sustained. I have visited “depopulated areas” (kaso chiiki) all over Japan from the mid-1980s to the present in 2022, and have surveyed and analyzed the “reality of depopulated areas” and the “particularities and local specificities of the depopulation problem” that confront residents. There are peculiarities and diversities, but at the same time, in the process of visiting these various regions I have also identified many commonalities. Moreover, I have developed a hypothesis that the aspects of the “depopulation problem” may be completely different in areas where the proactive efforts of “small, lively communities” are recognized compared to areas where they are not recognized. As such, I see the role of “small, lively communities” as central to addressing the “depopulation problem” in contemporary Japan. I would like to emphasize that it was not possible to establish such a working hypothesis only through desk work. Rather, these insights were born from extensive travel throughout the regions of the country, compiling the collected data, and identifying statistical trends. As will be discussed later, it was only possible to establish such a perspective by conducting field research in concrete, living regions. Only when this kind of field research can be done is it possible to create working hypotheses and strategically test them. Fortunately, the author had such an opportunity. In the mid-1980s, the Department of Social Systems Engineering was established in the Faculty of Engineering at Tottori University, where I was working at the time, and I was given the leadership role in creating the department. As one of the aims and identities of the new department, I took up field research that would contribute to the revitalization of local communities. As soon as this was announced, people from the Chizu Creative Projective Team (CCPT), a voluntary group of local residents in Chizu Town, Tottori