Nowhere in Japan has been hit as hard by depopulation as Hokkaido. Yubari is the classic example, plunging from 120,000 to 10,000 residents
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There are many reasons for this, but I think the most significant is that Sapporo is not a booming city--its growth doesn't compensate...
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...for losses elsewhere in Hokkaido. Most people who leave the countryside go to Tokyo or Osaka instead.
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When other parts of Japan depopulate, they at least benefit from being closer to the metropolitan heart of the country--not Hokkaido.
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This is why the Shinkansen extension to Sapporo will continue to go ahead--people hope to draw more Tokyo-ites out to visit.
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But, although I expect the Shinkansen extension will help bring more tourist revenue, I don't think it will reverse the trends.
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Hokkaido will keep depopulating unless Sapporo booms and becomes a city on the same level as Osaka or Nagoya...
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...which I don't think can possibly happen unless Hokkaido were an independent country. Time will tell.
End of conversation
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