It is not a Tom Cruise sequel:
‘‘Yabu is the dark horse, a little-known semi-mountainous area with a varied past spanning silk farming, tin mining, and rice cultivation.... the area could become a model for other semi-mountainous regions.... [under tutelage and with advice from] Robert Feldman, head of Japan economic research at Morgan Stanley MUFG in Tokyo. ‘‘Yabu is an example of how a local initiative can fight against vested interests and try to address the structural problems in the economy.’’
As opposed to what, protests on the city squares and town commons?
While I'm glad I'm not reading about rising tensions in the region and a more assertive Japanese military (seems like all Asia chilled on the recent U.S. fomenting of war), I'm also sad that the word Fukushima is not mentioned in relation too this article:
"Japanese abandoning farm lands; Programs seek to restore crops to buoy economy" by Keiko Ujikane | Bloomberg News August 03, 2014
YABU, Japan — Across Japan, it’s the same story. The area of abandoned farmland has almost doubled in the past 20 years as the population gets older and young adults that grew up in rural areas such as Yabu move to the big cities to find work.
This sleepy community was thrust into the national spotlight after being chosen in March by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration as a test-bed for the revival of the nation’s declining provinces.
Along with five other areas, Yabu, 373 miles west of Tokyo, was designated as a strategic special zone, with the promise of loosened regulations in areas such as agriculture, medicine, and labor. The idea is to create development blueprints as part of Abe’s crusade to pull the country out of two decades of economic doldrums.
While most of the other zones are well-known regional centers of industry, agriculture, or tourism, Yabu is the dark horse, a little-known semi-mountainous area with a varied past spanning silk farming, tin mining, and rice cultivation.
‘‘Now is the last chance to revive agriculture,’’ said Sakae Hirose, mayor of Yabu. ‘‘In three to five years, the old farmers will lay down their plows, the farmland will be left uncultivated, and Yabu will fall into decline. We have to create an environment where new entrants can easily come in.’’
Like most provincial towns in Japan, the twin forces of emigration and a falling birth rate have hollowed out the community.
Think rural AmeriKa.
*******************
Yabu’s selection as a special zone was prompted by the determination of Hirose and his team to restructure farming practices to reverse that decline, said Heizo Takenaka, a member of a government council on the zones and a professor at Keio University. The mayor’s plans may include taking over authority for land sales from the farmer-run local agricultural committee.
‘‘We’re greatly impressed by Yabu’s enthusiasm and passion for reform,’’ Takenaka said at a seminar in Tokyo in April. ‘‘The special zone probably won’t be successful without this determination.’’
Abe’s chief Cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, met Hirose and farmers in Yabu on July 5 and said the area could become a model for other semi-mountainous regions, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.
Yabu’s municipal status was upgraded in 2004, when it was merged with a series of towns strung along the mountainous valleys of the Maruyama River and its tributaries. Almost half of the nation’s municipal districts have vanished in the past 15 years because of such mergers, which are designed to cut administrative costs as the number of residents dwindles.
******************
‘‘It is a microcosm of many of the issues facing Japan,’’ said Robert Feldman, head of Japan economic research at Morgan Stanley MUFG in Tokyo. ‘‘Yabu is an example of how a local initiative can fight against vested interests and try to address the structural problems in the economy.’’
A WALL STREET BANKER SAID THAT?
He's a real $amurai!
Records show the area was producing silk more than a thousand years ago. By the 19th century, sericulture, as it’s known, was the key industry for the region.
Samurai be spinning in their graves (if they have them).
The industry declined during and after World War II, under competition from new artificial fibers such as nylon, and the region turned to another resource: mining.
I need to drop this sword and start working on my World War III on Blog series before it is too late.
Hiromasa Saito, who used to work as an electrical engineer at the mine, remembers the days when new movies were played every week at the cinema, electricity and water were free, and the town attracted top artists.
It's almost like a Rockwell painting.
Now....
Perfect. They are all.... perfect.
Why did Gaza just come to mind?
--more--"
Also see: Minamisanriku Memories
