A stooped over elderly woman working her family’s rice paddy, and the dreaded K-Truck with it’s orange and yellow sticker. Two images most of us see on a daily basis here in Fukui, indeed, seen throughout Japan now. But few of us pay note to how often it is a sight repeated. Stop, and take a good look at the people around you (preferably not in school as that defeats the purpose of this exercise) and chances are you’ll see how old the community you live in actually is.

Japan is an ageing nation and it’s not being balanced out by an equal birthrate. Add restrictive immigration policies and what you have before you is a nation whose population is predicted to decrease by two-thirds from 127 Million to 40 Million within the next 100 years. This will cause both economic and social problems for the country and its people. But what is the solution?
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