This paper explores the strategies employed by Japanese rural municipalities to
support growing numbers of older people in the face of dwindling financial and human
resources. Drawing on case study research from a study visit made by the authors, the
paper considers the social and economic benefits gained by taking a community based
approach as seen in Kuriyama and an older-person centred approach to spatial planning
as seen in Nanporo. It concludes by considering what lessons rural municipalities in
the UK might draw from these approaches.
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