Japanese village replaces young people with mannequins to stave off loneliness as population falls

The small population of a village in Japan is now “outnumbered by puppets” – after using life-like mannequins to replace those who have left the area.

Fewer than 60 people live in the southern village of Ichinono – with most of them past retirement age, as younger people have moved away for jobs or education.

In an effort to heal feelings of loneliness that can come after the departure of neighbours or loved ones, the villagers have used old clothes, fabrics and mannequins to stitch together a new population of puppets.

A mannequin girl wearing a beanie hat can be seen swaying gently on a wooden swing, while her friend, a boy with a big smile, stands on a scooter, ready to go.

Another puppet girl in a red helmet is seen sitting on a bike nearby.

Meanwhile, under leafless trees in another part of the village, two adult female puppets and a mannequin of a girl put logs in a cart.

“We’re probably outnumbered by puppets,” Hisayo Yamazaki, an 88-year-old widow, told the Agence France-Presse news agency.

She added that most families in Ichinono used to have children who were encouraged to go somewhere else.

“We’re now paying the price,” she added.

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There are however some younger residents in Ichinono, including Rie Kato, 33, and Toshiki Kato, 31, who moved to the village from the city of Osaka after flexible working became possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Their two-year-old son, Kuranosuke Kato, was Ichinono’s first baby in two decades when he arrived, according to data from Japan’s internal affairs ministry.

“Just by being born here, our son benefits from the love, support and hope of so many people – even though he has achieved absolutely nothing in life yet,” his father said

Japan has the highest percentage of people aged 65 and over in the world, according to data released last month by the country’s statistics bureau ahead of its “Respect for the Aged Day”.

While the population of Japan is decreasing, the number of people aged 65 and over is at a record high of 36.25 million – accounting for 29.3% of the total population.

Separate data from the internal affairs ministry shows the country’s total population declined for the 15th consecutive year in 2023, with a record low of 730,000 newborns but an all-time high of 1.58 million deaths.