Current:Home > InvestA Japanese girl just graduated from junior high as a class of one, as the "light goes out" on a small town.-LoTradeCoin
A Japanese girl just graduated from junior high as a class of one, as the "light goes out" on a small town.
View Date:2024-12-23 21:19:10
Tokyo — When Akino Imanaka attended her junior high school graduation earlier this month, the whole community turned out to celebrate. It wasn't just that Imanaka had ranked at the top of her class — she was the class. Imanaka was the sole student on the island of Oteshima, a tiny speck of land in Japan's famed Inland Sea.
"It was a little lonely, but really fun," the 15-year-old told CBS News, recalling her experience as the only elementary school and then junior high student on Oteshima, about 10 miles north of the main island of Shikoku, in western Japan.
Tutoring the teen over the past few years was a team of no less than five instructors, each responsible for two subjects. Among them was Kazumasa Ii, 66, who taught Japanese language and social studies. Trying to create any semblance of normal class life prompted the staff to take on some unusual duties: Besides lesson plans and grading papers, they occasionally had to stand in as classmates.
"We expressed our opinions and offered opposing views" so their star pupil could experience class discussions, Ii told CBS News.
Like much of rural Japan, Oteshima faces almost-certain oblivion. When Ii moved to the island 30 years ago with his young family, his kids had plenty of playmates, all watched over by village elders. These days, stray cats — which greedily swarm the dock three times a day when the ferry arrives — vastly outnumber the several dozen permanent residents, most of whom earn a living by fishing for octopus and sand eels.
Tourists arrive each spring to gape at the bountiful pink and white peach blossoms blanketing Oteshima, but with neither stores nor hotels, even teachers at Oteshima Junior High have been compelled to bunk in a dorm, returning to the mainland on weekends for groceries.
Most of the islanders are senior citizens, and the average age of Oteshima's tiny population is set to rise even more soon, as Imanaka leaves to attend a mainland high school where she'll be one of 190 students.
- Japan's government to play matchmaker in bid to boost birth rate
Ii concedes that outsiders might reasonably question the utility of keeping an entire school and its staff on the clock for a single student.
"Of course it's inefficient," he said, speaking from Oteshima Junior High as it prepared to close its doors, likely for good. But rural schools, he argued, are much more than places of learning.
"A school gives its community vitality," he said, noting that islanders would faithfully show up not just for graduations, but to join sports and other school events.
"When a community loses its last school," he said, "it's like the light goes out."
- In:
- Japan
veryGood! (67638)
Related
- Jennifer Hudson, Kylie Minogue and Billy Porter to perform at Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade
- Who killed Heidi Firkus? Her husband Nick says he didn't do it.
- Worried about running out of money in retirement? These tips can help
- The death toll from a mining tragedy in South Africa rises to 13 after a worker dies at a hospital
- Get well, Pop. The Spurs are in great hands until your return
- Israel orders mass evacuations as it widens offensive; Palestinians are running out of places to go
- More Than 100 Countries at COP28 Call For Fossil Fuel Phaseout
- Simone Biles presented an amazing gift on the sideline from another notable Packers fan
- The boy was found in a ditch in Wisconsin in 1959. He was identified 65 years later.
- Bowl projections: Texas, Alabama knock Florida State out of College Football Playoff
Ranking
- Texas’ 90,000 DACA recipients can sign up for Affordable Care Act coverage — for now
- Ryan Reynolds Didn't Fumble This Opportunity to Troll Blake Lively and Taylor Swift
- How much should it cost to sell a house? Your real estate agent may be charging too much.
- Atmospheric river to dump rain, snow on millions; Portland could get month's worth of rain
- NCT DREAM enters the 'DREAMSCAPE': Members on new album, its concept and songwriting
- CFP committee makes safe call in choosing Alabama over FSU. And it's the right call.
- San Francisco’s Brock Purdy throws 4 TD passes as 49ers thump injured Hurts, Eagles 42-19
- DeSantis reaches Iowa campaign milestone as Trump turns his focus to Biden
Recommendation
-
Cameron Brink set to make Sports Illustrated Swimsuit debut
-
Ohio State QB Kyle McCord enters NCAA transfer portal
-
Jim Leyland, who guided Marlins to first World Series title, elected to Hall of Fame
-
Israel orders mass evacuations as it widens offensive; Palestinians are running out of places to go
-
How to protect your Social Security number from the Dark Web
-
How to stage a Griswold-size Christmas light display without blowing up your electric bill
-
Historian Evan Thomas on Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
-
How much should it cost to sell a house? Your real estate agent may be charging too much.