ECONOMY

Rural gender inequality fuels Japan depopulation

Akita’s dazzling kanto festival masks a harsher reality: rigid gender roles pushing young women from rural Japan. Government data show Akita has Japan’s oldest population — 39% over 65 — and its lowest birth rate, while a survey finds 27% of young women want to leave their hometowns, versus 15% of men. Matchmaking schemes persist, but critics say they miss the point. Activist Ren Yamamoto told then Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that policy overlooks women’s choices. Even as Sanae Takaichi becomes Japan’s first female prime minister, locals describe slow progress, gnawing unease and a depopulation that feels relentless.

Reviewed by JQJO team

#demographics #gender #rural #japan #inequality