Scenes from the outskirts of a slowly declining Japanese city

There’s no shortage of photos on these pages of rundown old towns and resort spots. Such decline, however, isn’t only found in the country’s more rural areas, as Japan’s changing demographics mean more and more municipalities are slowly beginning to fade away.

Imabari in Ehime prefecture is one such story. It gained city status in 1920 and over the years gradually grew in size, but the population has steadily fallen since 1980, with the number of residents now down about 25 percent from that nearly half-century ago peak. A trend that will likely see the number of residents fall back to the city’s formation levels in the not too distant future.

All that said, such changes aren’t overly visible around the station area, but take a short walk and it’s all too evident what was, and now what is. An area where the people were lovely, but the number of empty properties quite prophetic — a situation perfectly summed up by the friendly button and sewing shop owner who kindly stood outside her family store for a portrait. It has been in operation for 75 years, and despite taking the business on as a second generation proprietor, the lady is resigned to being the last. And when the day eventually comes to shut up shop for the final time, the building will be unceremoniously locked up and left empty like the ones that already surround it.