Closing ceremony held for sole elementary school in Japan’s fastest-aging village

NANMOKU, Gunma — Students and staff at a closing ceremony for the only elementary school in this rural east Japan village on March 22 sang their school song together for the last time.

Nanmoku has the highest rate of ageing due to depopulation, and was once believed most likely to die out completely. Beginning next month, the village’s sole elementary and junior high schools will combine to form the “Nanmoku Compulsory education school” where the facility’s small scale will be used as an educational advantage.

At the school’s last graduation ceremony ahead of the closing ceremony, 12-year-old Haruka Ichikawa was congratulated by everyone and received messages from homeroom teachers who had transferred to other schools. There were four students in her grade when she entered the school, but by the 6th grade, there were no others. “There were few children, but I’m proud I could attend. I won’t ever forget the lessons and encounters I’ve had here,” she reflected.

Mayor Saijo Hasegawa commented, “While sad, this is the start of a new Nanmoku. We do not consider our small number a handicap, and hope to connect to the future of the village through education that is possible because of our small size.” Principal Kenji Kosuda said, “With everyone’s efforts, we’ve spent classes and breaktimes together like a family. Thank you, Nanmoku Elementary School, for the many years.”

The school had operated under its current name since 2005, following a series of mergers with other elementary schools. A keepsake of a blue-eyed doll received from the United States before the war has been kept and will be passed on to the new institution.

As of the end of November 2023, the municipality had a population of 1,512.

(Japanese original by Ryuko Tadokoro, Maebashi Bureau)