The politics of depopulation in Japanese municipalities: Ideas and underlying ideologies

Abstract

ABSTRACT Recent research has tried to understand Japan’s depopulating countryside and regions through the comparative theory of “peripheralization”. Though these studies argue that a critical determinant of peripheralization in depopulating communities is a lack of political agency, few studies systematically investigate the internal and electoral politics of adapting to depopulation. This paper investigates one aspect of this process: how elected officials and candidates position themselves and contest issues concerning depopulation. We start by analyzing the ideas driving politics in two policy areas related to shrinking populations: 1) various measures aimed at attracting young families and people to relocate to the municipality and 2) the closure and merger of public schools. The article maps the key ideas and assumptions driving policies to adapt and combat depopulation. We find two ideas – what we call “populationism” and “listenism” – prevalent in the discourse. In addition, we find contestation about depopulation largely disconnected from broader ideological debates about the role and size of the state, prioritizing community over individual interests, or being more open or closed as a community, etc.