Set against mountains and forests, Nagi basks beneath a cobalt sky, reflected in perfectly symmetrical rows of submerged rice paddies. But there is more to this town in western Japan than pretty views and agricultural output. Nagi is quietly producing what much of the rest of the country is lacking: children.
On a recent afternoon, groups of schoolchildren weighed down by their randoseru stopped off at the museum of contemporary art on their way home. In a public building nearby, adults struggled to make themselves heard above the din of excitable preschoolers.
It is the sound of a community that is defying Japan’s stubbornly low birthrate, and by some margin.
The fertility rate in Nagi more than doubled from 1.4 to 2.95 in 2019, dropping slightly to 2.68 in 2021 – still more than twice the national average of 1.3, or the number of children a woman can expect to have in her lifetime.
Amid warnings from the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, that Japan’s declining birthrate threatens its ability to function as a society, the town’s 5,700 residents might just have found the answer.
Its elevated birthrate is the result of two decades of local initiatives designed to make this farming town a child-rearing utopia and, perhaps, arrest a demographic trend that, according to the most recent government forecast, will send Japan’s population plummeting from 125 million today to 87 million in 2070. With population decline comes a shrinking economy, huge pressure on families and an over-burdened workforce.
Nagi has earned the nickname of Japan’s “miracle town” through a combination of generous financial incentives and, as the Guardian discovered during a recent visit, by involving every member of the community in bringing up its youngest residents.
‘We love the sound of children’s voices’
That approach is on display at Nagi Child Home, a daycare facility where for ¥300 (£1.70) an hour parents can leave their children in the care of other mothers, staff and older volunteers while they grab some personal time to run errands, go shopping or attend a doctor’s appointment.
“We’re trying to make bringing up children enjoyable by taking away the anxiety parents can have about finances, or if their child becomes ill. It allows them to balance their family and working lives … and they don’t need a special reason to use the service,” says Takamasa Matsushita, a father of two young children and head of the town’s information and planning division.
“Doing something about the declining birthrate is not just about children. We’re taking a holistic approach, and that’s why we try to get older residents involved.”
“I come here about three times a week,” says Yukie Kaneko, who has two girls, aged three and three months. “It’s really useful because our children wouldn’t have the opportunity to play with each other without it. It’s much better than staying at home all day.”
The 28-year-old says she and her husband have talked about having a third, or even fourth, child.
They are not alone. Three-child households are not unusual in Nagi, where young families are eligible for a range of financial benefits, including a one-off payment of ¥100,000 (£580) on the birth of each child.
According to town statistics, 47% of Nagi households have three or more children. “In Japanese cities, children are seen as noisy and disruptive, which is why you have bans on playing football and baseball in public parks,” says Matsushita. “But here, we love the sound of children’s voices.”
After residents voted not to merge with nearby cities in a 2002 referendum, officials realised Nagi would only survive if it could stabilise, and even increase, its population.
Children receive free healthcare up to the age of 18 and families don’t pay a single yen for school textbooks until they complete compulsory education at 15. School meals are subsidised, and teenagers attending senior high school out of town pay only a fraction of their bus fares. In an attempt to attract young families, the town offers three-bedroom homes for a comparatively low monthly rent of ¥50,000.
Yuko Sugawara, who has a one-year-old girl and is pregnant with her second child, says cash handouts are only part of Nagi’s attraction. “It’s not really about the money,” she says. “We want our daughter to have a little brother and sister. It would be a shame if she were to grow up as an only child. And when you look around and see families with three or even four children, you think, we can do that too.”
Hiroko Kaihara, a member of staff at the child home, is on hand to offer visiting mothers advice on everything from breastfeeding and nappy changing to dealing with temper tantrums.
“They come here to talk about whatever is going on in their lives, not just their children. Some of them might be worried about elderly relatives, for example,” she says. “Some come every day, other just once a week. We get first-timers and people who haven’t been for ages. Everyone is welcome … we want residents to bring up their kids in the open.”
Kishida, who will soon announce an ambitious funding package to address Japan’s demographic crisis, may have learned something from his visit to Nagi in February, when health ministry data showed the number of births in 2022 totalled 799,728 – the lowest national figure since records began in 1899.
In Nagi, community involvement extends to work. At the Shigoto no Conbini work convenience store, people aged from their 20s to their 70s do jobs commissioned by the town council, from cleaning public toilets to stuffing envelopes. The programme connects businesses with women of childbearing age and retired people, along with people who haven’t worked for years, according to Yoshikazu Kuwamura, who manages the facility. “Parents can leave their kids here while they work, perhaps in the fields, and someone looks after them,” he says. “Then they return the favour another day.
“They can come here for an hour or two, whatever suits their schedule. It gives them the flexibility to balance work and family life. They know that they are not having to bring up their children on their own.”
Like many rural communities in Japan, Nagi is suffering from depopulation as deaths continue to outnumber births, even though the number of people moving into the town – including families connected to the nearby Japanese self-defence force base – is rising and expected to continue doing so.
“It’s an easy place to bring up children,” says Manami Kuroyabu, who has three children aged between one and eight. “I don’t feel like I’m alone. There’s always someone on hand to help with the children, and there are lots of chances for the kids to play with each other.
“I’ve thought about having a fourth child … but I have to admit I’m pretty tired.”