Tired of the relentless glow of city neon? Forget the crowded tourist routes and prepare for an adventure into Okayama Prefecture, a beautiful region in western Japan, home to the serene mountainside and the captivating islands. This year, Japan’s...
Today, Japan grapples with significant challenges, including a declining birthrate, an aging population, and a shrinking populace, particularly pronounced in local communities. As a remedy, policies are being advanced to foster local Zebra...
The Local Vitalization Cooperator program, a Japanese community empowerment version of the Peace Corps, has deployed more than 6,500 paid volunteers from Hokkaido to Okinawa since it started in 2009. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and...



