2024 Volume 74 Issue 4 Pages 263-270
Declining of population and aging of local residents are progressing throughout Japan. This tendency is apparent in remote highland areas with limited industrial activity and severe natural environments. The upstream area of the Watarase River have these industrial and environmental factors as do other remote areas in Japan. In addition, this area has special factors such as the Ashio Copper Mine Industrial Pollution, the closure of the Ashio Copper Mine, and complicated municipal divisions. In this survey, we investigated the demographic trends and medical services in three municipalities in the upstream area of the Watarase River. We identified that the population decline and aging in this area are more rapid than in the whole of Japan or Gunma Prefecture, and that it is becoming gradually difficult to give adequate medical services to injured and sick people in the areas. It is highly possible that there are many similar areas in Japan, and such areas are expanding further in the future.
