00:00 [Music]
00:15 Where is everyone?
00:17 In this Japanese town, these life-sized dolls outnumber residents ten to one,
00:23 filling up spaces once occupied by real people, including this now empty school.
00:29 These are the last two children who were here when the primary school closed.
00:35 We dress these scarecrows in the children's own clothes.
00:40 Tsukimi Ayano originally created the dolls to be actual scarecrows,
00:44 but as the town's population shrank from a few hundred to a couple of dozen,
00:49 they found renewed purpose.
00:51 Nobody stopped by this village when there were no dolls.
00:54 Now that the number of dolls has increased, people from all over the country,
00:59 and even from abroad, come to see them.
01:01 Japan is the world's oldest society.
01:04 With services at risk, the Prime Minister's warning it's now or never to do something.
01:10 Right now, there's millions of empty homes across the country.
01:13 Ghost villages grow as more people move to the big cities seeking better opportunities.
01:20 It's fine for pensioners like us, but young people have to work and send their children to school.
01:25 It would be nice if someone moved here, but I think that's quite impossible.
01:29 But not every town is standing still.
01:33 More than 400 kilometres away is the town of Kamichi.
01:42 It's home to some 20,000 people and also faces a depopulation problem.
01:48 There are not many young people, but there are many elderly people, so the town lacks vitality.
01:55 So it's come up with a novel solution to attract new folk.
01:59 Why not make some vacant homes free and throw in a bunch of cash bonuses for good measure
02:05 to help with renovations, relocation and child costs?
02:09 For the property owners, they're getting rid of a near worthless asset that attracts fees and costs.
02:15 14 properties were selected for the zero yen home program.
02:19 Most have already been snapped up.
02:21 So this is one of the homes you've given away for free.
02:24 What made you pick this property to be part of the program?
02:28 The house was 92 years old and vacant, but as you can see, the exterior is in very good condition.
02:35 We received 16 applicants from within and outside of the prefecture,
02:39 including applicants from Australia and other countries.
02:44 For father of two, Yasuyuki Fuke, a free home was more than enough to make him move from the city to the country.
02:53 I was looking for an inexpensive property, but there were no properties where my child could walk to primary school
02:59 or no place for a car.
03:01 When I came to see this property, it met my requirements and I had no complaints, as it was zero yen.
03:07 His house is huge.
03:10 So big, in fact, he's got a couple of goats to help with the gardening.
03:15 After I moved in, I began to feel the joy of having a house of my own.
03:21 I felt as if I'd won the lottery.
03:24 Giving away free properties won't solve all of Japan's population problems,
03:28 but in this town, it's made a real difference.
03:31 It's seen its population increase for the first time since it began monitoring the problem 11 years ago.
03:38 We've received more phone calls and emails than we expected.
03:42 We're also receiving emails from overseas.
03:46 For towns seeking solutions, time is running out.
03:50 Japan's most recent population drop was the steepest yet.
03:55 I don't want to think too much about what will happen in the future.
03:58 I'm healthy now and I'd like people to visit while I'm well.
04:02 In a few decades, there will probably be no one left in this village.
04:06 When the time comes, I will make sure that the scarecrows are put away properly.
04:11 For some, it's already too late.
04:13 light.
04:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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