Japanese countryside uses NFT to break through difficulties
Population loss and aging are thorny problems facing rural areas in Japan. A "Digital Citizenship" report by the Japanese research consultancy Yuri Group pointed out that from the 2010s to the present, only about 8% of Japan's population lives in rural areas, and most of them are elderly. This change has led to the gradual disappearance of villages.
In order to improve this situation, Yamakoshi Village in Nagaoka City attracts digital villagers through NFT (non-fungible token) technology and DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) to combat population loss, aging, and Marginalization caused by the destruction of villages after the earthquake.
Nishikigoi Village launched the Nishikigoi art NFT series in 2021. It is not only the identity and membership certificate of "digital villagers", but also the governance token used by DAO. In other words, people who hold Koi NFT can participate in voting or express opinions on matters involving the village.
Source:X
What’s special is that in addition to local residents of Shanguzhi Village receiving NFT for free, anyone in the world can become a digital villager of Shanguzhi Village by purchasing koi NFT. Funds raised from selling NFT will be used to fund middle-aged and elderly residents of the village (56.2% of residents are over 65 years old), village operations, local campus activities, etc.
Shanguzhi Village hopes that by granting others the right to vote on community-related matters, several villagers far away can build relationships with local residents and take the initiative to care for this village of only 740 people.
According to reports from Yuri Group, koi NFTs have so far raised more than $400,000 for Shangushi Village, and the number of villagers who own koi NFTs is approximately 1,700. Takeuchi, the initiator of the project, said that NFT holders have been asked to vote six times so far.
Education, communication, voting weight are all challenges
The Koi NFT has successfully brought funds and international attention to Shangu Shimura, but if the plan is to be implemented in the long term, there are still many challenges that must be overcome.
For example, when polls are currently held, the average participation rate is only about 40%. Takeuchi expects the proportion to increase to 60% to 80% in future voting.
In addition to turnout, Web3 technology is a difficult vocabulary for people who are not familiar with it, so repeated education is required. Even explaining “the benefits that NFT can bring” to elderly residents is a big challenge, and Takeuchi believes that this may be one of the reasons for the low voting participation rate.
Blockchain is not subject to geographical restrictions, so Koi NFT has also attracted many overseas users to become digital villagers. In this case, "language" has also become a problem that needs to be overcome. After all, there are still many details that need to be explained to the voting affairs. International digital villagers communicate.
In addition, "How to balance the voting weight of local residents and digital villagers?", "Can everyone participate in some decisions?" and "Will local residents object to giving voting rights to digital villagers who have never met?" These are DAO members Questions I think about every day.
Now it seems that this policy may be as overly idealistic as a utopia, but it is still unclear whether "using NFT to preserve villages and culture" will become a national consensus in Japan in the future. If the Yamaguchimura strategy works and expands to other villages, it estimates rural Japan could raise about $500 million, the Yuri Group said in a report.
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This article is reproduced with permission from: "Web3+"