2025.08.06 21:22 GMT+8

UN@80: How Japan's depopulation crisis is threatening communities

Updated 2025.08.06 21:22 GMT+8
CGTN

Fertility rates are dropping globally, with women and young people all too often blamed for these demographic shifts. But the real fertility crisis is a lack of reproductive agency: Many people are simply not able to start a family due to social, economic and health barriers. This is the stark reality in Japan, a country that faces a deepening depopulation crisis, with record-low births and aging towns. Rural areas are hit the hardest and some villages have no children left. But in Kamogawa, one family is defying the trend and breathing new life into their community. Meet six-year-old Tara, the only child in his village, and his parents, who left the city for a better future. Can their efforts inspire hope for Japan's countryside?

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