Oct 25, V7N- In the tiny, depopulated village of Ichinono, Japan, two-year-old Kuranosuke Kato is a rare sight—he's the only child in a village overrun by life-sized puppets meant to create a semblance of a once-thriving community. Ichinono, like many rural areas in Japan, faces the challenge of an aging population, with more than 20,000 communities in the country where the majority of residents are over 65 years old.

Kuranosuke, born in 2021, is the village's first baby in 20 years. His parents, Rie and Toshiki Kato, moved from the big city of Osaka to Ichinono during the pandemic for a quieter, more pastoral life. In contrast to the anonymity of city life, the small, tight-knit community of Ichinono dotes on their son, making him a symbol of hope for the village's future. Residents like Ichiro Sawayama, head of the village's governing body, express pride in Kuranosuke, and the village’s elderly, such as Hisayo Yamazaki, consider him practically family.

Ichinono is part of a broader national challenge Japan faces: rural depopulation and the so-called "quiet emergency" of a declining birthrate. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has made revitalizing rural Japan a key campaign issue in the upcoming general election, pledging policies like increasing subsidies for struggling areas. However, experts like Taro Taguchi, a professor of community development, warn that past attempts to stimulate rural areas often resulted in ineffective projects that did not address the core issues facing residents.

For the Kato family, life in Ichinono has its rewards. While working remotely, Toshiki Kato has begun restoring century-old homes in the village as a side project, hoping to extend the community’s life by even just a little. Despite the challenges of rural living, the Katos appreciate the strong sense of self-worth and community that life in Ichinono offers, with Rie saying that the village's collective support makes her and her son feel valued.

Yet, for Ichinono and villages like it, the future remains uncertain, as they struggle to stave off the creeping threat of extinction.

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