評論
打印
Kishiki noriyo pulls up outside a house in Akashi, a city in western Japan, in a truck emblazoned with a heart logo and the slogan: “Diaper delivery: we also deliver kindness.”
在日本西部城市明石市的一所房子外，岸木紀良開著一輛卡車停了下來，卡車上印著心形標志和標語:“送尿布:我們也傳遞善意?！?/p>
She steps out with two bags of nappies.
她拿著兩袋尿布走了出來。
Higuchi Miki, a young mother, appears at the front door with a baby on her hip.
一位年輕的母親Higuchi Miki出現在前門，她的腰上捆著一個嬰兒。
Ms Kishiki is on the front line of a ten-year push by Akashi to encourage its residents to have children.
岸木女士處在明石市十年來鼓勵居民生育的第一線。
It includes delivering free baby food as well as nappies, free medical care and school lunches.
這包括提供免費嬰兒食品、尿布、免費醫療和學校午餐。
The effort seems to be paying off.
這些努力似乎得到了回報。
Akashi’s population has increased for ten years in a row, to more than 300,000.
明石縣的人口已經連續十年增長，超過了30萬。
This makes the town exceptional.
這使得這個小鎮與眾不同。
Japan’s birth rate dipped below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman in the mid-1970s and has been steadily declining ever since.
日本的出生率在20世紀70年代中期低于更替水平，降至每名婦女生育2.1個孩子，此后一直在穩步下降。
In 2022 the total number of births dropped below 800,000 for the first time since records began in 1899.
2022年，日本出生總人數自1899年有記錄以來首次降至80萬以下。
Of Japan’s 1,800 municipalities, only around 200 have a rising population.
在日本的1800個自治市中，只有200個左右的人口在增長。
According to Kishida Fumio, the prime minister, this has put the country on “the brink”.
日本首相岸田文雄表示，這已將日本置于“懸崖邊緣”。
Even in Akashi, which is an easy commute from the cities of Osaka and Kobe, most of the growth is from migration, not births.
即使在到大阪和神戶通勤很方便的明石市，人口增長也主要是來自移民，而不是當地出生。
The town’s birth rate is 1.65.
該鎮的出生率為1.65。
Yet given that the national figure is 1.3, this represents success of a sort.
然而考慮到全國的生育率是1.3，這在某種程度上代表了成功。
Schools are closing across Japan for want of pupils; Akashi is short of school places.
由于生源不足，日本各地的學校紛紛關閉; 明石市則是缺少學校。
Many of the obstacles to young Japanese forming families, from high education costs to inflexible family laws, can only be tackled with national policies.
日本年輕人組建家庭的許多障礙，從高昂的教育成本到僵化的家庭法，只能通過國家政策來解決。
But Akashi shows how local communities can make a difference.
但明石市展示了當地社區是如何發揮作用的。
That starts with improving access to nurseries and day care.
這要從改善托兒所和日托服務開始。
Smaller projects such as Ms Kishiki’s, which assist parents of young children, also help.
像岸木女士這樣幫助幼兒父母的小項目也有幫助。
The population of Nagareyama, a commuter town outside Tokyo, is also booming.
流山鎮是東京郊外的通勤小鎮，其人口也在迅速增長。
Over the past decade it has grown by 24%, to 211,000.
在過去的十年里，這個數字增長了24%，達到21.1萬。
The opening of an express-train service to Tokyo in 2005 largely explains that.
2005年開通的通往東京的特快列車服務在很大程度上解釋了這一點。
But Nagareyama’s commitment to child care—the “utmost priority” of its local government—has also attracted young families.
但流山鎮對兒童保育的承諾——當地政府的“重中之重”——也吸引了年輕家庭。
