Japan's shrinking regions in the 21st century
Subtitle: contemporary responses to depopulation and socioeconomic decline
By: Peter Matanle and Anthony Rausch with the Shrinking Regions Research Group
Contributors: Rausch, Anthony, 1960-; Shrinking Regions Research Group
Publisher: Cambria Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Amherst, N.Y
Language: eng
Number of pages: 530
ISBN-13: 9781604977585
Subjects: Economic conditions; Rural-urban relations; Social conditions; Rural conditions; Regional disparities; Population
Description: "This book combines the work of 18 international scholars in the first comprehensive study of contemporary regional shrinkage under Japan's national depopulation. The contributions have been arranged thematically, and interspersed throughout the book are tables, charts, diagrams and photographs that visually augment and describe the processes and impacts of regional shrinkage. In this way the book stitches together a representative variety of detailed and richly textured examinations of shrinkage at the local level, out of which emerges the overall story of Japan's depopulation and its place within the trajectory of world development. The book shows that shrinkage has not been a uniform experience for regional communities, as some settlements have expanded and others close by have disintegrated. It also describes the differential processes of shrinkage taking place throughout Japan in the postwar era, as well as their characteristics, impacts and implications. From remote mountain villages to regional industrial centers, the authors analyze the responses that national, regional, local and individual actors have brought to bear on shrinkage, including the important roles that the state and municipal authorities, and the construction and tourism industries have played. Ominously, the authors demonstrate that depopulation is deepening and broadening to include larger and more densely populated settlements as the national population decline becomes more entrenched. The authors conclude by arguing that depopulation and socioeconomic decline may combine to induce individuals and groups to begin to rethink growth and to embrace a new way of life that prioritizes stability and, even, sustainability."--Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introducing Japan's shrinking regions; title: Setting Japan within the world context : shrinking regions in the European Union; title: The historical arc of regional shrinkage in Japan; title: Contrasting experiences of growth and decline in regional Japan; title: Geographical peripherality and industrial transformation in Japan's shrinking regions; title: Redeveloping Japan's regions; title: Repopulating the region; title: Recovering the region; title: Reinventing the region : current practice in tourism; title: Reinventing the region : theoretical potential; title: Conclusion : embracing depopulation in Japan's shrinking regions.