The following passage by Dr. Samuel Johnson was penned in 1773 in an effort to explain the steady depopulation of the Scottish Highlands due to emigration to North America. While reading the passage, I realized that through careful substitution [in brackets] of a few select keywords, I could use the same paragraph to explain the phenomenon of village abandonment currently underway in the mountains of Japan.

”In more fruitful countries [communities], the removal of one only makes room for the succession of another: but in the Hebrides [mountains of Japan], the loss of an inhabitant leaves a lasting vacuity; for nobody born in any other part of the world [Japan] will choose this country [community] for his residence; and an island [village] once depopulated will remain a desert.”