Japan has “extra space”...??
This town is about as “remote” as is possible in Japan.
A lot of small provincial towns and rural communities like this are dying. Japan’s birthrate is well below replacement level, and young people don’t stay.
Hokkaido has an area, climate and population density very similar to Wisconsin. Most of the population is clustered in a few big cities on the south end, including Sapporo and Hakodate.