Kishiki Noriyo pulls up outside a house in Akashi, a city in western Japan, in a lorry emblazoned with a heart logo and the slogan: “Diaper delivery: we also deliver kindness.” She steps out with two bags of nappies. Higuchi Miki, a young mother, appears at the front door with a baby on her hip. Ms Kishiki is on the front line of a 10-year push by Akashi to encourage its residents to have children. It includes delivering free baby food as well as nappies, and free medical care and school lunches. The effort seems to be paying off. Akashi’s population has increased for 10 years in a row, to over 300,000.

This makes the town exceptional. Japan’s birth rate dipped below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman in the mid-1970s and has been steadily declining since. In 2022, the total number of births dropped below 800,000 for the first time since records began in 1899. Of Japan’s 1,800 municipalities, only around 200 have a rising population. According to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, this has put the country on “the brink”.