A small village in Japan where local residents place life-sized dolls outside their homes to mourn their loved ones, either those who have passed away or move from the village, has revealed the country’s increasing depopulation problems. /VCG Photo

British photographer Trevor Mogg captured these photos which he described as “eerie” when he was travelling in the village of Nagoro in one of the smallest islands in eastern Shikoku, Japan. /VCG Photo

Trevor said he saw around 150 dolls as he walked along the village’s “only” road but it is thought that there are at least 350 of them dotted about the area. Now, the village has fewer than 40 people left as the population ages. /VCG Photo

Created by Tsukimi Ayano, one of the youngest residents in the village, those dolls are placed in almost every corner of the village where a living person might stop – from farmhouses, fences and trees, to bus stops. /VCG Photo

Japan has long been suffered severe depopulation and aging problems. According to a report published by the country’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare last Friday, the estimated number of babies born in 2018 dipped to 921,000 – the lowest record since data gathering began in 1899. /VCG Photo