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Masato Okaue, 71, posses for a photograph in front of the handmade human-sized scarecrows in a store-room in the village of “Kakasi No Sato” on September 20, 2023 in Yasutomi, Japan. Masato Okaue, 71, has created human-sized scarecrows and placed them around his village to remind people that there are still 10 villagers who are 65 or older, who are still living there. Since 2010, he has set more than 130 scarecrows around farmlands, roadsides and abandoned houses to illustrate the old Japanese countryside and show that villages are not completely deserted. Due to dwindling birth rates and migration to urban areas, 8 houses are occupied among the 30 houses in the village and others are abandoned, which is emblematic of a similar phenomenon taking place across Japan. Japan's elderly population aged 65 and older reached a record high of 29.1%, according to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry statistics issued last Monday. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)
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