Scotland looks to Japan for lessons to curb depopulation

Scotland has 93 inhabited islands, where communities face challenges of population decline, as well as housing pressures.

The Outer Hebrides alone saw a decrease of 700 people (-2.6%) from 2009 to 2019, according to a report published last year by Western Isles council.

Amid the concerns ministers in Edinburgh last year announced a £50,000 grant scheme to encourage more young people and families to stay or move to Scottish islands.

But the plans, which would have offered 100 bonds at a cost of £5m, were scrapped last month after a consultation found islanders did not believe the scheme was the right way to tackle depopulation.

However, a new report “Japan island depopulation: lessons for Scotland”, commissioned by the Scottish Government and published last week, found similar grant schemes in Japan aimed at attracting both young families and older people to move to remote islands worked.

The community co-operative support (CCS) initiative was launched by the Japanese government in 2009 and gives people grants of between £990 to £1350 a month for up to three years to move from an urban to a remote island.

In return, recipients agree to take part in activities aimed at promoting or preserving the island’s local culture, history or nature.

To date 6,005 people have taken part in the scheme with 63 per cent deciding to stay on the island after the end of the three years.

The report, carried out by a team of researchers at Scotland’s Rural College, urged ministers to examine the CCS scheme.

It was among the recommendations in the study which examined how Japan has pioneered solutions to tackle the issue of people moving away from its remote islands since shortly after the end of the Second World War. Others included building on the rise of remote working during the pandemic to encourage people to move to islands and cautioning against holding negative attitudes to second home owners.

The study explained in the early 1950s the Japanese government could see that if migration away from remote islands and other rural areas continued, it would lead to problems in urban areas such as overcrowding and congestion as well as increase pressures on public services such as schools, health and housing.

Far reaching legislation was brought in in 1954 covering 254 islands (later extended) to “prevent the significant decline in the population, and promote the settlement of people on remote islands”.

Initially central government strategy focused on setting up infrastructure projects hoping programmes of road and bridge building would provide jobs and stop inhabitants leaving.

However, the focus on infrastructure and public works came under criticism with opponents claiming it fostered dependence on central government and damaged the natural environment.

The report explained recent policies - such as the CCS - have tended to concentrate on promoting the islands’s natural and cultural resources and presenting them as attractive places to live and work.

Restored derelict homes are sold or rented to new settlers under one scheme, while another gives people the chance to live on an island for a short period to see what it’s like before committing to move there permanently.

A further initiative encourages holiday makers, second home owners and those visiting properties they may have inherited to get involved in island community and conservation programmes to give them more of a stake in island life and considering moving there.

The report said Japan had encouraged holiday and second home visitors to relocate to the islands permanently amid the increase of remote and hybrid working during the Covid pandemic.

It said the policy could be advanced in Scotland and cautioned islanders about adopting a negative attitude towards visitors and second home owners.

“What is striking in the Japanese context is that those people who regularly visit rural/island locations, perhaps to frequent second homes, or visit relatives or inherited property, are viewed positively in terms of their potential role in regional revitalisation,” the report said.

“In Scotland, particularly in the context of the increased potential of (and preference for) hybrid or home working that takes advantage of improved digital connectivity, it may be worth exploring the potential for a scheme in an island location, with high levels of second/holiday home ownership for example, that engages visitors during their stay with the view to enhancing their positive impacts by contributing skills, financial capital and networks for example.”

It also warned ministers about just focusing on retaining and attracting young people and suggested Scotland look at what Japan has done to attract older people to areas with falling populations.

“Scotland has tended to focus its policy approaches on retaining/attracting back young people to rural and island communities, whereas the focus in Japan has been more mixed, with both older and younger in-migrants a focus of interventions,” it said.

“This is at least partly related to different cultures and attitudes. Demographic ageing and a rise in the number of older ‘dependent’ people in society tends to be viewed negatively in the UK, whereas in Japan attitudes towards older people and intergenerational living and working are generally much more positive.

“There may be particular lessons to be learned in the Japanese interventions that are focused on attracting older people to depopulating communities as well as the Japanese attitudes toward older citizens more broadly.”

Scottish Conservative MSP for Highlands and Islands, Donald Cameron said: “There needs to be an urgent focus within government on how we halt the depopulation of our island communities and any ideas to explore that are welcome.

“However, it is on the SNP’s watch that many people have ultimately felt the need to leave the islands.

“From their ongoing ferry fiasco, to failing to deliver the broadband schemes they promised and not building enough houses for our islands, the SNP have let these communities down at every turn.

“Islanders rely on these lifeline ferries and the poorer and less reliable those services are, the less attractive and practical life on the islands becomes.

“If the SNP want this policy to work, then they should start by finally prioritising our rural and remote communities whose interests and wellbeing they have ignored for far too long.”

Scottish Lib Dem MSP for Orkney Liam McArthur said: “This report is a welcome contribution to the debate about how we tackle island depopulation, but it needs to be followed by concerted action.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats have consistently made the case that we need to see support for measures that build the resilience of our island communities. In particular, I have argued that this is best done by investing in transport links, broadband and affordable housing.

“I remain committed to working with the Scottish Government and others to deliver realistic proposals that will support and sustain Scotland’s islands.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Scotland is not alone in facing demographic challenges and it can learn from other countries.

"The strategy published by the Ministerial Population Taskforce in 2021 contains a commitment to engage with international countries to share learning and best practice on addressing demographic challenges.

“Most recently, the Scottish Government worked with researchers to explore policy approaches to depopulation in Japan and how these may carry lessons for Scotland.

“The findings of this research will be used to inform the development of the Scottish Government’s Addressing Depopulation Action Plan, the ongoing delivery of the National Islands Plan, as well as future engagement with Japanese partners.”