ORGANIC SOURCES FOR THE REVITALIZATION OFRURAL JAPAN

The population and society of Sado Island are declining at an alarmingrate. Much of this decline has been due to endemic outward migration of the island’syounger people to Japan’s large urban areas in search of opportunities fortertiary education and salaried employment. Even though opportunities to findwork in Sado do exist, these are in occupations that younger people currently findunattractive. Moreover, education in Sado currently does not serve local circumstancesand needs well, being organised primarily by and for the urban centre. Thisresearch starts by presenting an overview of the issues surrounding population,education, and employment on Sado, and then moves to presenting a case studyof the life and work of Sado Island’s craft-potters. The article uses statistical datafrom official bodies and unstructured interviews with the island’s residents as empiricalsupport for its theoretical discussions. The article concludes by hinting at apossible stabilization of the population through a combination of educational reform,craft-based employment re-generation, and taking advantage of emergingtrends in world tourism....