著者

石田 易司 小柳 敬明 川井 太加子

出版者

桃山学院大学

雑誌

桃山学院大学総合研究所紀要 (ISSN:1346048X)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.39, no.1, pp.91-137, 2013-08

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The population in farming and fishing villages of Japan had started to decline since the 1990s. This paper shows the process that transformed one village leading to marginalization, using the case of Masaki-Jima, a distant island located in Shima, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Masaki-Jima, had developed through its pearl industry, having over 600 residents in the 1950s. As the sea around the island became polluted, the skilled laborers left. This brought the end of the pearl industry in the Bay of Ago along with its tourism industry. As a result, over 80% of the island population is now over 65 years old ; and half of the 100 houses there are vacant. The only youth in the island now are 2 junior high school students, a brother and a sister. Their parents, in their forties at the time of this study, are the next youngest residents. Almost all others are the elderly. In this environment, this study explored 1) the elderly's attitudes toward living using interview methods and 2) the elderly care conditions using survey methods. The reality of the island life makes it impossible for the elderly who need care to remain on Masaki-Jima. The findings 1) suggest that the vast majority of the elderly gave up on the future of the island-the development and recovery of the island by the younger generation. They accept the current whereaboutsnatural disasters, diseases, and uneasiness for the lack of elderly care in the island - and are simply waiting for the day that they are unable to survive on the island. And 2) because of the lack of public elderly care on the island, the results show that many senior citizens take care of themselves. As many of them have already started having difficulty walking, in a few years, we can expect that they will leave the island. Those who have health conditions do not participate in the community meetings and activities any longer. They have infrequent communication with other islanders and rely on their children living off the island. This study clearly suggests that this marginal village will disappear unless we intervene with medical and public elderly care support for the island residents.