Ex-fisherman Toshi Etchu, aged 74, in front of the 'torii' gate of Nakauta Shrine in the village of Nakauta, Hokkaido island.

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Ex-fisherman Toshi Etchu, aged 74, in front of the 'torii' gate of Nakauta Shrine in the village of Nakauta, northern island of Hokkaido, Japan. Thursday July 3rd, 2008. All young people have left the village, leaving only a small population of elderly. Toshi Etchu claims he used to make 1million yen ( approx 5,000 GBP) per night from fishing for squid, and due to this happy memory and boom times he feels he can not leave his village, even though many others have.

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Size: 3887px × 2592px
Location: Hokkaido, japan
Photo credit: © jeremy sutton-hibbert / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: age, countryside, depopulation, dying, economy, elderly, employment, harsh, hokkaido, japan, japanese, life, lifestyle, long, longevity, pensioners, rural, setana, shrine, society, unemployment, village, villages