DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS FOR SUSTAINABILITY OF GEMMEINSCHAFT-TYPE OF RURAL COMMUNITIES IN DEPOPULATION ASSOCIATED WITH AGING IN NORTHERN KYOTO AREAS, JAPAN

Abstract

Like other mountainous areas in Japan, the northern areas of Kyoto Prefecture have been experiencing serious depopulation with aging. The demographic phenomena have directly impacted the sustainability of rural communities. The impacts of depopulation with aging are exhaustive and on almost all aspects of rural life in the case of Gemmeinschaft-type of communities: irrigation management, co-work for agricultural road maintenance, co-work for common property such as pond and forestry, and other many functions related to daily life. Thus, the impacts of depopulation with aging are much more serious for the sustainability of community in the case of Gemmeinschaft-type of rural communities in Japan. The research used Survey Method on forty-five (45) rural communities in the areas which was done in 2011 to identify demographic factors of rural communities for their sustainability as a community. These rural communities were located in hilly and mountainous areas which generally have disadvantageous position for socioeconomic development and have small population with high percentage of elderly people who are older than 65 years old. The rural community, whose elderly people share higher than 50% of the total population, is called “a marginal village†indicating a difficulty of maintaining community activities. However, despite the similar circumstance, those communities demonstrated different dynamism of community activities.