[Shocking number of births: 758,000]Interview with the mayor of Nagi, a “miracle town” whose birth rate is more than double the national average. Countermeasures against the declining birthrate and why he supports snack expenses Interview with Mayor Oku Masachika of Nagi Town, Okayama Prefecture (Part 1) (1) /4) | JBpress

2024-03-01 21:00:00

Shock of 758,000 births

Interview with Mayor Oku Masachika of Nagi Town, Okayama Prefecture (Part 1)

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• The number of births in 2023 (preliminary figures) is the lowest on record at 758,000, marking the eighth consecutive year of decline.
• While the birthrate is rapidly declining nationwide, there are some local governments with one of the highest numbers of children in the country. Nagi Town, Okayama Prefecture, has a population of 5,702 people.
• The total fertility rate is 2.95 (2019, Okayama Prefecture survey), which is more than twice the national average and is also called the “Miracle Town.” Why are the number of children increasing? We asked Mayor Masochika Oku regarding his strategies to overcome the declining birthrate.

(Daiki Yuasa: Freelance journalist)

【Related article】
Part 2:[Shock of 785,000 births]The harsh reality faced by the “miracle town” for the elderly: “Would you rather spend money on graves than on childcare support?”

The crisis of “towns disappearing”

──Although the number of births in Japan in 2023 was the lowest ever recorded, Nagi Town continues to maintain a high birth rate. Reason?

Masachika Oku, Mayor of Nagi Town, Okayama Prefecture (Titles omitted below): This is because the town administration’s goal is to make 1-chome 1-1 a town where it is easy to raise children.

Let me tell you the historical background of why Nagi Town came up with such a drastic childcare support measure. In 2002, Nagi Town was facing the risk of not being able to maintain itself due to the continued population outflow, and there was talk of merging with other towns and villages.

However, the will of the townspeople at the time was clear, with approximately 75% of voters supporting Nagi’s independence in a referendum. Although the merger talks were scrapped, the problem that the town’s population was already small and most of them were elderly remained. Unless young people give birth to children and become citizens of Nagi, we will not be able to maintain all the infrastructure in the town, including hospitals, nursing care facilities, and food supermarkets.

Masachika Oku, Mayor of Nagi Town, Okayama Prefecture

Graduated from Hiroshima National College of Marine Science and Technology in 1979, worked at a private company and was self-employed before joining Nagi Town Hall in 1985. He retired from his position as general affairs section chief in 2018, and was first elected mayor in February 2019. He is currently in his second term.

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Therefore, we decided to take the plunge and “develop a policy that fully supports the town’s efforts to raise children.” Specifically, there are two types of support: “financial support for raising children with peace of mind” and “mental support for raising children in nuclear families, which tend to be isolated.” As a result of thorough efforts to reduce expenditures, including reducing the number of town council members (from 14 to 10) and reviewing public works projects, we were able to generate approximately 130 million yen in financial resources.

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