사진 확대 Lee Seung-hoon, Tokyo correspondent
There is an island called 淡 in Hyogo Prefecture near Osaka, Japan. It takes about an hour by car from Osaka. It is also the seventh largest island in Japan, following four major islands, Honshu and Hokkaido. Awajishima is imprinted on the Japanese as an “onion island.” The sunlight is good, so not only onions but all crops grow well. Before the Meiji period, many of the crops sent to the Emperor were “Made in Awajishima.”
Since agriculture is the main industry, the population has been steadily decreasing since Japan’s industrialization. Young people all left for nearby big cities to find work. The population of 220,000 has now decreased from 220,000 people to 120,000, which is half of the population. It is the same pattern as Korea, where provinces collapse and only large cities grow.
The difference from Korea is that the population of Awajishima has recently started to increase. As young people returned, obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics were rare in small local cities. It is a company called “Fasona” that has added a catalyst to the change.
Fasona Group founder Yasuyuki Nambu is considered the first-generation entrepreneur who led the Japanese venture craze in the 1970s and 1980s along with Softbank Chairman Son Jeong-ui and Hideo Sawada, chairman of HIS, a large Japanese travel agency. Since 2008, he has paid attention to Awajishima and started “Machizukuri” one by one to save the place.
First of all, the core of agriculture was revived. After selecting 300 young people interested in agriculture, the paddy field here was bought and provided. Farming is not for everyone. No matter how short it is, profits can be made only after two to three years. The initial fund of at least 10 million yen (about 93 million won) is basic.
Pasona not only gave land, but also hired them as employees and provided funds so that they could work stably. Seventeen years later, they have grown into pillars of Awajishima agriculture.
In 2012, it took over the closed elementary school and transformed it into a bakery and restaurant. Using the Intellectual Property (IP), Japan’s largest organ, Hello Kitty restaurants and concert halls were built on the beach. A theme park was created in the deserted prefectural park. Experience facilities using IP such as Godzilla, Naruto, Dragon Quest, and Crayon Shin-chan appeared here. More than 30 million people visit this place every year for tourism.
Even Pasona moved some of its headquarters functions here. About 2,000 people, or about 10% of all employees, work here. It took over the troublesome buildings that had been left unattended one by one and had seven offices. Children’s graduation works are still hanging in the hallway of the office that took over the closed school.
It’s not just the office moving. It has hosted international schools to solve the educational problems that employees are most concerned about. There is also a large hospital on the island, but if necessary, it will be connected to Kobe University Hospital in real time by telemedicine. The dual-income couple allowed their spouse to work in Pasona if they wanted to. The salary is the same as that of Tokyo, but the cost of living is less than half, so there was a line of employees who wanted to move.
How about Korea. Innovative cities have been built across the country to save the provinces. A large number of public corporations and public institutions have moved, but they are all dissatisfied. Schools, hospitals, and cultural facilities are all lacking. On weekends, it is a daily routine for people to leave and become a ghost town.
There is actually no right answer to preventing fat extinction. But it is important to create a place where people are willing to live. I hope you get a little hint of local extinction from Japan’s “Machizukuri,” which is creating a future together while protecting the history and culture of the local community.
[Lee Seunghoon, Tokyo correspondent]
AloJapan.com