Due to low population, effigies were installed in place of youth in Japanese villages. world News

The small population of a village in Japan has now been “outnumbered by puppets” – with lifelike mannequins being used to replace those who have left the area.

Fewer than 60 people live in the southern village of Ichinono – most of them past retirement age, as younger people have moved away for jobs or education.

In an effort to cure the feelings of loneliness that come after neighbors or loved ones leave, villagers have used old clothing, fabrics, and mannequins to piece together a new population of puppets.

A mannequin girl wearing a cap can be seen swinging slowly on a wooden swing, while her friend, a boy with a big smile, stands on a scooter, ready to go.

Another puppet girl wearing a red helmet is seen sitting on a bike nearby.

Meanwhile, under leafless trees in another part of the village, two adult female puppets and a girl’s effigy were placing firewood in a cart.

“We probably outnumber the puppets,” Hisayo Yamazaki, an 88-year-old widow, told the Agence France-Presse news agency.

He said most families in Ichinono had children who were encouraged to move elsewhere.

“Now we are paying the price for it,” he said.

However, Ichinono has some younger residents, including Rei Kato, 33, and Toshiki Kato, 31, who moved to the village from Osaka city after flexible working became possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Their two-year-old son, Kuranosuke Kato, was Ichinano’s first child in two decades, according to data from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.

His father said, “Just by being born here, our son benefits from the love, support and hope of so many people – even though he has achieved nothing in life yet.”

Japan has the highest percentage of people aged 65 and older in the world, according to data released by the country’s Bureau of Statistics ahead of “Respect for the Elderly Day” last month.

While Japan’s population is declining, the number of people aged 65 and older is at a record high of 36.25 million – accounting for 29.3% of the total population.

Separate data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs showed the country’s overall population declined for the 15th consecutive year in 2023, with a record low of 730,000 newborns but deaths of 1.58 million, the highest ever.