1.
depopulated area; underpopulated region
A region that has lost a significant portion of its population, typically due to migration to urban areas. A major social issue in rural Japan.
この村は過疎地だ。
This village is a depopulated area.
過疎地では病院が少ない。
There are few hospitals in depopulated areas.
若者が都市に出てしまい、過疎地の高齢化がますます進んでいる。
With young people leaving for the cities, the aging of depopulated areas is accelerating.
A key term in discussions of Japanese demographics and regional policy. Japan's rapid urbanization since the postwar period has left many rural areas severely depopulated, with aging populations, abandoned houses, and shrinking public services. The government designates certain areas as 過疎地域 under the Depopulated Areas Act.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 過疎地域: depopulated region (formal/administrative)
- 過疎地の問題: problems of depopulated areas
- 過疎地対策: measures for depopulated areas
- 過疎化が進む: depopulation advances
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 過疎: depopulation — the phenomenon itself, while 過疎地 refers to the specific area
- 僻地: remote area — emphasizes geographical remoteness, not necessarily population decline
- 限界集落: marginal settlement — a village where more than half the residents are over 65