Art, whose direct impact on the world is difficult to see, as well as artists, who experiment with things that people don’t “get” at first glance, are similarly pushed to the fringes of society. Kamiyama gave such artists a chance, and with artists in residence as a point of origin, succeeded in the social venture of regenerating the region. Population decline and aging are not particular to Japan. The experiments afoot in this small town demonstrate how art spins new possibilities for rural areas in an era of population decline and aging. Yoshimoto Mitsuhiro is Director of the Center for Arts and Culture at the NLI Reseach Institute. He investigates the effects of integrating art into social programs such as education, social welfare, regional development, and care forRussian cities targeted by mystery bomb threats Published duration 13 September 2017

image caption The bomb scares spread to the heart of Moscow on Wednesday, including the central GUM shopping centre

For four days running, towns and cities across Russia have been hit by a wave of bomb alerts.

Dozens of schools, shopping centres, railway stations and public buildings have been evacuated. Tens of thousands of people have been affected.

So far, all of the alerts have proved to be hoaxes and the public has been urged to remain calm.

The source of the threats is unclear but one official suggested they had originated outside Russia.

"There's reason to assume this was all organised abroad," the official in Chelyabinsk told Interfax news agency.

On Wednesday, the bomb scares spread to Moscow, prompting the evacuation of