Ageing Japanese village turns to Peru in search of new residents
Village officials hope the pact will draw young Peruvians as Nanmoku’s population ages, with 70% of residents already 65 or older.
- Nanmoku, a village of 1,300, is pursuing a sister-city agreement with Belen, Peru, to attract young residents and combat depopulation, as Nanmoku Mayor Saijo Hasegawa seeks to prevent the community's collapse.
- With 70 percent of residents aged 65 or above, Nanmoku faces Japan's most severe aging crisis; around 60 people die annually while only two or three babies are born.
- Visiting students including 19-year-old Wendy Sangama and 23-year-old Ketsi Yahuarcani toured the village, with Sangama saying, "It's a town where I could see myself living and settling down."
- According to resident Yuki Wanibuchi, newcomers face significant hurdles including language barriers; Wanibuchi noted, "You cannot live here without a car, and getting a driver's licence will require Japanese skills."
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is pushing for tighter regulations on foreign nationals amid growing opposition to immigration, a policy shift that may complicate Nanmoku's visa efforts.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Could a twinning initiative between a region in Peru and a recent Japanese village save the danger of extinction?
A Japanese village at risk of disappearing from aging seeks to convince young people from Peru to move to their community.
Ageing Japanese village turns to Peru in search of new residents
The mayor of Belen and two young women visited a care home on their trip to Nanmoku, a village of just 1,300 people in Gunma Prefecture, greeting the elderly with broad smiles as some looked on slightly puzzled. "From the moment I arrived, I began to admire everything about this place," 19-year-old student Wendy Sangama told AFP during a week-long tour of Japan that followed the signing of a sister-city agreement between her hometown and the vil…
Nanmoku, a people of Japan with 70% older adults, seeks to attract young people from Bethlehem, Iquitos, through an agreement signed in 2025. Learn how the project is progressing.
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