Martin Sustrik

Life at the Frontlines of Demographic Collapse by Martin Sustrick Published on February 14, 2026 There's an image here, with the caption Nagoro, a depopulated village in Japan where residents are replaced by dolls.

In 1960, Yubari, a former coal mining city on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, had roughly 110,000 residents.

Today, fewer than 7,000 remain.

The share of those over 65 is 54%.

The local train stopped running in 2019.

Seven elementary schools and four junior high schools have been consolidated into just two buildings.

Public swimming pools have closed.

Parks are not maintained.

Even the public toilets at the train station were shut down to save money.

There's an image here.

Much has been written about the economic consequences of ageing and shrinking populations.

Fewer workers supporting more retirees will make pension systems buckle.

Living standards will decline.

Healthcare will get harder to provide.

But that's dry theory.

A numbers game.

It doesn't tell you what life actually looks like at ground zero.

And it's not all straightforward.

Consider water pipes.

abandoned houses are photogenic.