[Feature: The Present State of Regional Migration] "Education x Regional Revitalization" Led by Migrants: The Current State of the Noto High School Revitalization Project

Noto will disappear in the near future. In the "Masuda Report" published in May 2014 by the Japan Policy Council (chaired by former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Hiroya Masuda), eight out of nine municipalities on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture were designated as "municipalities at risk of disappearance." Among them, Noto Town, located near the tip of the peninsula, saw its population decrease by approximately 40% from 28,000 in 1990 to 16,000 as of May 2021. Furthermore, it is predicted that in 20 years, by 2040, the population will drop to less than 9,000—roughly half of its current size—and to approximately 4,000 by 2060 (estimates by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research).

Fifty years have passed since the Emergency Measures Law for Depopulated Areas was passed by the Diet in 1970, marking the government's first confrontation with depopulation issues to stem the rapid population decline in rural areas. However, many municipalities in remote islands and mountainous areas have been unable to stop the decline to this day. In the 2015 census, Japan's total population finally began to decrease. Now that we have entered an era where the population will decline in most regions of Japan, Noto Town can be called a "Frontier of Challenges" that is ahead of its time.

Despite this seemingly dire situation, the town is overflowing with abundance. The eastern side of the Noto Peninsula faces Toyama Bay, while the interior consists of hilly terrain with elevations of around 300 meters. Blessed with the bounty of the mountains and sea, primary industries utilizing these resources are thriving. The rich "food culture"—including rice grown with clear water, fresh seafood landed daily, and fermented and brewed foods that make expert use of these ingredients—satisfies the hearts of residents and visitors alike.

The author moved from Tokyo to Noto Town in March 2018 with his wife and three children. To participate in the "Noto High School Revitalization Project" promoted by the town, I resigned from a private company and took up a post as a member of the "Local Revitalization Cooperator" program. The Local Revitalization Cooperator is an initiative by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications aimed at settlement and permanent residency. It involves moving from urban areas to disadvantaged areas such as depopulated regions to engage in "local cooperation activities," such as supporting regional revitalization through the development, sales, and PR of regional brands and local products, engaging in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, and supporting residents. Members are commissioned by each municipality for a term of one to three years.

I did not originally have a connection to Noto. I graduated from the Keio University Faculty of Business and Commerce in 1999 and joined NGK Insulators, Ltd. In 2005, I changed jobs to Benesse Corporation and later became a researcher at the Benesse Educational Research and Development Institute. While researching the present and future of Japanese education, I encountered the "High School Revitalization Project." I resonated with the project's aim of solving regional issues through education and developed a continuous interest in it.

Meanwhile, in 2005, I encountered Noto by participating in a rural experience program in the Iwaguroma district of Anamizu Town, Ishikawa Prefecture, organized by the NPO Inaka-Jikan. Before participating in "Inaka-Jikan," I knew almost nothing about Noto. However, as I sweated alongside the people of Noto during rice planting, harvesting, and oyster farming, and engaged in dialogue over drinks, I was drawn into the charm of Noto—the richness and beauty of nature, and the fascinating people and their ways of life. Before I knew it, I was visiting Noto three or four times a year, and eventually, I began to wish to live there.

With the rapid progression of population decline and a falling birthrate, high school consolidations are taking place nationwide. It is said that about 50 high schools are consolidated per year; by simple calculation, one in six or seven high schools will disappear over ten years. Consolidations are progressing in high schools in remote islands, mountainous areas, and regional cities where the birthrate decline is significant. For these regions, there is a risk that the only high school within commuting distance will close. If that happens, commuting via public transportation becomes difficult, and it becomes the norm for 15-year-olds to leave their hometowns upon entering high school. Furthermore, the absence of a high school in a town raises the psychological hurdle for the child-rearing generation to migrate or settle there. They would be forced to see their children leave at age 15 from the place they moved to in search of family happiness, or the family would be forced to migrate again to a municipality with a high school. It is highly unlikely that such a region would be chosen by the child-rearing generation.

We want to preserve high schools, which are vital to their regions, for the future. The "High School Revitalization Project" is being undertaken nationwide not just as a regional education policy, but also as a policy for promoting migration and settlement and regional revitalization. This policy aims to make high schools—primarily in remote islands and mountainous areas with significant birthrate declines—attractive schools that children "want to attend" and parents "want to send them to," serving as places to develop human resources who will lead future regional societies. Originating from efforts that began at Shimane Prefectural Oki Dozen High School in 2008, this project spread across the country in the 2010s and has now expanded to more than 70 high schools and regions nationwide.

Furthermore, according to joint research (2019) by Professor Shinji Fujioka of the Hokuriku University Faculty of Economics and Management (at the time) and Project Assistant Professor Yukio Nakajima of the Keio University Graduate School of Media and Governance (at the time), the economic impact of Ishikawa Prefectural Noto High School on Noto Town was estimated at 2.1 billion yen per year. This accounts for 5% of Noto Town's total economic scale of 450 billion yen. As it has become clear that the existence of a high school has a significant influence on regional economic activity, the High School Revitalization Project is attracting even more attention.

The reason I moved to Noto Town was not only because Noto was a place I "wanted to live in someday," but also because the High School Revitalization Project, which I had been interested in, had started in this town. Having a reason to move to Noto for both personal and professional reasons felt like destiny to me.

At the root of this project, which Noto Town has been challenging since 2016, is a great sense of crisis regarding the declining trend of enrollees at Noto High School—the town's only high school—and the loss of town vitality, bustle, and economic impact that would occur if the school disappeared.

As the population of the child-rearing generation flowed out, the number of students continued to decrease. The three high schools and one branch school that once existed in the town underwent repeated consolidations, and in 2009, Noto High School became the town's sole high school. Even after becoming the only school, the number of students continued to decline. The enrollment capacity, which was four classes when Noto High School first opened, decreased to 80 students across two classes. Even so, it has been difficult to fill that capacity.

It was clear that if the student decrease continued, the survival of the high school would be jeopardized in the near future. Additionally, because there are few higher education institutions or companies creating significant employment in the town, and because young people were leaving without developing an attachment to the region where they were born and raised, the town could not expect the settlement or U-turn of young people to lead the community, leading to a further loss of vitality.

To overcome this critical situation, Noto Town began collaborating with Noto High School (a prefectural school) across administrative boundaries. In 2016, they launched the "Noto High School Revitalization Project" to ensure the survival and development of the high school and to nurture young "human resources" who will carry the town's future. Simultaneously, they began operating the "Town-run Machinaka Hosu Juku" in a renovated former community center located about one kilometer from the high school.

The Machinaka Hosu Juku has two major roles. One is to provide academic support and enhance the learning environment to help students achieve their desired career paths. Noto Town does not have the prep schools or Juku that are taken for granted in cities. This Juku, which provides high school students with after-school learning opportunities, serves to bridge the regional gap in educational opportunities and alleviates the anxiety that the child-rearing generation feels regarding the educational environment. The five staff members currently involved in operations are talented individuals who graduated from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Ritsumeikan University, etc., and have teaching experience at urban Juku or hold teaching licenses. They utilize their experience and individuality to provide personalized support tailored to each student's academic level. Another characteristic unique to a town-run Juku is the close communication with Noto High School to support students' learning, career choices, exam preparation, and recommendation-based entrance exams.

The second role is to nurture students so they become well-acquainted with local nature, culture, and industry, recognize their richness and charm, and eventually become human resources who contribute to the region. This initiative is called "Regional Studies," and it involves problem-discovery and problem-solving learning using the region as material, as well as holding lectures with diverse guest speakers.

I would like to introduce two examples of the Regional Studies that this project actively pursues. One is the "Period for Inquiry-Based Cross-Disciplinary Study (Sotan)." "Sotan" is a class implemented in accordance with the revision of the Course of Study, and Noto High School uses it to foster problem-discovery/solving abilities and value-creation skills. As a "Revitalization Coordinator," I support the creation of rubrics (evaluation standards for learning achievement) and curricula, and work with Noto High School teachers to design each lesson. In Sotan, students face regional issues. In Noto Town, a "Frontier of Challenges" under population decline, there are many unresolved problems and issues familiar to students. They engage in inquiry activities to discover social problems Noto Town is actually facing, develop an awareness of the issues, and seek solutions from a high school student's perspective.

The other is the "Hosu Seminar." This is an active-learning extracurricular course conducted in collaboration with Noto High School, aimed at hometown education, career education, and the development of problem-discovery/solving skills. I serve as the course designer and facilitator. In this course, where students learn about the current state of Noto, recognize its charms and challenges, and think of solutions, we cover a wide range of themes related to Noto's "Satoyama" (woodlands), "Satoumi" (coastal areas), and "local industries." Participants include motivated Noto High School students who choose to participate voluntarily and local adults. Nearly 20 participants gather for each session of this course, which lasts nearly four hours on weekends when school and work are out.

In the Hosu Seminar held in November 2019, the theme was "Noto's Satoyama x Wildlife Damage: Why are Wild Boars Increasing in Noto?" Focusing on the current situation in Noto where damage from wild boars and other animals has become prominent, we asked, "What sustainable measures can we take to live alongside wild boars?" First, participants used the jigsaw method to read five types of materials. Then, students and adults discussed the materials and the question, expressing their solutions in writing. We welcomed a female hunter active in Noto as a guest speaker, who spoke about why she chose this job, her struggles, efforts to use pests as regional resources, and her passion for Noto. Stimulated by the presence of adults who are positive about the region's future, students learn how to create a "future with will" rather than a "future left to chance."

Through these Regional Studies efforts, students who felt that "there is nothing in our town" come to recognize that Noto is a land full of richness and charm. At the same time, the reality that their hometown might disappear if things continue as they are hits home. By facing the region as it is, students begin to think and act independently regarding their own futures and the future of the region. I believe this is the value of Regional Studies.

Five years since this project began, we have received heartening feedback from residents regarding the town-run Juku, such as "they teach carefully" and "having the Juku provides peace of mind." Regarding Noto High School, we hear voices reflecting change, such as "they are doing interesting studies" and "students are thinking about the region more than before." These are all the results of the daily efforts of Noto High School students and teachers, but I take pride in the fact that this project's efforts have played a part. The number of enrollees at Noto High School went from 52 in FY2016 to 74 in FY2019. Even in FY2020, when the regional birthrate decline progressed, there were 67 enrollees, and 59 in FY2021—not falling below the enrollment numbers at the start of the project. Additionally, the percentage of local junior high school graduates choosing Noto High School, which was below 30% in FY2016, improved to the 40% range in FY2020. In a situation where the five prefectural high schools in the two cities and two towns of Okunoto have seen their enrollment numbers drop by 30-40% across the board since FY2016, the fact that Noto High School's enrollment has turned toward an increase is noteworthy.

Furthermore, regarding career paths after graduation, the number of students going to university is on an upward trend. In addition to more students steadily acquiring the academic skills needed for university exams with support from the high school and Juku staff, another factor is likely the development of independence and a sense of purpose in choosing a path—asking "why go to university to learn?"—through Regional Studies. A student who graduated the year before last entered Jichi Medical University after a year of preparatory study, with the desire to "engage in regional medical sciences in Okunoto." This was the first time a student from Noto High School passed the entrance exam for a School of Medicine. A student who graduated last year, centered on an interest in the current state of regional decline learned in Regional Studies and Noto's Satoumi, entered the Faculty of Marine Science at a private university outside the prefecture with the dream of "realizing sustainable fisheries in my hometown in the future."

There was also an interesting career choice among those seeking local employment. A student who attended every Hosu Seminar while in school said she realized that Noto Town—which she had been told by nearby adults and seniors had "nothing"—was actually a place full of "charm" and "possibility." Although she wanted to be a civil servant and passed multiple recruitment exams, she ultimately chose the local "Noto Town Hall." Her reason was that she wanted to revitalize the region by increasing the number of migrants, permanent residents, and tourists in this charming town. Young people with a future and a passion for their hometown are gradually, but surely, being nurtured in this town.

The Noto High School Revitalization Project has steadily evolved over the past five years through the efforts and actions of Noto High School, Noto Town Hall, local residents, and the students. The results are as shown above. However, the population decline and falling birthrate in the two cities and two towns of Okunoto, including Noto Town, show no signs of stopping. The number of third-year junior high school students living within Noto High School's commuting area in FY2021 is expected to decrease by about 30% compared to FY2016. Until now, appealing the charms of Noto High School to local junior high students and parents could ensure enrollment close to capacity, but that will no longer be the case. Further reductions in capacity or classes (moving to a single class) would make the school a candidate for consolidation.

Therefore, this project has begun an initiative looking toward the future: "Regional Mirai Study Abroad 365 (Grade 11 Study Abroad)." This is Japan's first domestic single-year study abroad system, which the Cabinet Office began as a project in 2020. Noto High School was selected as one of the 12 schools to implement it in the first year. We are recruiting exchange students by promoting school life in Noto, with its rich Satoyama and Satoumi, nationwide. In the first year, a student from a general course high school in Kagawa Prefecture who wanted to study fisheries at university came to study in Noto High School's specialized fisheries course. For current students, these exchange students also serve to stimulate human relationships that tend to become homogenized and fixed in small groups.

While recruiting students from outside the prefecture for prefectural high schools is becoming common alongside the spread of High School Revitalization Projects nationwide, Ishikawa Prefecture does not yet permit it except for a few schools. Therefore, we want to use "Grade 11 Study Abroad" to build a track record and experience in hosting, serving as a stepping stone for a future "3-year study abroad" program. This effort was also brought up in the Ishikawa Prefectural Assembly, where the Prefectural Superintendent of Education made positive mentions regarding the recruitment of students from outside the prefecture. By further enhancing the appeal of Noto High School, students who want to learn in Noto will gather from all over the country. The Noto High School Revitalization Project has just taken a new step toward such a future.

Having completed my three-year term as a Noto Town Local Revitalization Cooperator, I am now affiliated with a local community development company and continue to receive the mission of "Revitalization Coordinator" from the town. In this ever-evolving project, new tasks are born one after another, and while executing them can be difficult, it is also very rewarding. Moving forward, I want to support high school students in their independent learning and the realization of their desired career paths, while also getting "Regional Mirai Study Abroad" on track to contribute to the survival and development of Noto High School and the region.