2023 Volume 105 Issue 12 Pages 345-356
Although the necessity for hamlet-scale demographic analysis has been repeatedly pointed out, there has been little research due to scarcity of data. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to explore the feasibility of hamlet-scale demographic analysis using the population census and (2) to examine the merger of hamlets from a demographic perspective using a cohort analysis. Thus, we chose the merger of three hamlets in the Fudo district of Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture, in 2020. The results follow. (1) The population of hamlets after 1965 could be ascertained from censuses by interpreting census enumeration districts as hamlets, but it was not possible to similarly use censuses after 2000. (2) Fudo Elementary School became independent and expanded in the 1950s because of the large population of the cohort born during 1946-1955, i.e. the “independent-school generation.” In the post-2000 era, as a response to the declining birth rates and subsequent closure of elementary schools, there has been a call for this generation to forge a new bond. (3) The population of people aged in their 60s and 70s who serve as district officers peaked in 2015 and has been declining since. In summary, this hamlet merger was conducted by the “independent-school generation” who were old enough to be designated as district officers and had prepared for a future population decline. Future tasks are to examine the life of each of the “independent-school generation” and to improve hamlet-scale demographic analysis considering gender and social mobility trends.
