Nanmoku Partners With Belen to Boost Population
The Japanese village signs a sister-city deal to attract younger residents to combat severe local population decline.
Updated on Oct. 22, 2026 in Language Learning
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In 2025, the Japanese village of Nanmoku is leveraging a sister-city agreement signed last year with the Belen district in Peru to address its extreme demographic challenges. Officials hope to attract residents from Belen to a village where the population is aging rapidly.
Why it matters
Nanmoku is attempting to reverse a trend that threatens the continuation of essential public infrastructure like transportation. By connecting with a district in Iquitos that has a much younger demographic, the village seeks a path toward sustainable repopulation.
Nanmoku currently has 1,300 residents, with 70 percent aged 65 or above, while recording only two or three births annually against 60 deaths. Conversely, the Belen district features a median age of 27 years.
The players
Nanmoku
A rural village in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, currently struggling with a severe imbalance between its aging population and low birth rate.
Belen
A district located within Iquitos, Peru, known for its younger demographic and significant need for new employment opportunities.
The details
The initiative follows a 2014 think tank report that highlighted Nanmoku as a village at risk of extinction. A delegation from Belen recently visited the village on a week-long tour as part of the ongoing effort to align the needs of the aging Japanese community with workers from the Peruvian district.
Timeline
A 2014 report identified Nanmoku as being at high risk.
The sister-city agreement between the two municipalities was signed last year.
A delegation from Belen completed a week-long tour of Nanmoku recently.
Culture Shift
This move represents a departure from traditional local governance by embracing international migration to solve domestic rural decay. It signals a shift where isolated municipalities are looking globally to counteract the demographic decline common across many aging nations.
Residents of Nanmoku may see a shift in local service availability if the partnership succeeds in maintaining essential transit infrastructure. For those in Belen, the agreement provides potential new pathways for employment in a region where local work opportunities are currently scarce.
The takeaway
This partnership highlights the growing necessity for aging communities to look beyond their borders for sustainable growth. It serves as a practical model for how regions with surplus labor can help sustain areas facing terminal population loss.
Further reading
Learn more about how communities bridge cultural gaps in the Language Learning section.
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Should shrinking rural towns actively recruit international residents to prevent community collapse?
