Aoshima, Ehime

This article is about the island in Ehime Prefecture, also known as "Cat Island". For the island named Aoshima in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, see Aoshima, Miyazaki. For the "Cat Island" in Ishinomaki, see Tashirojima.

Aoshima (Japanese: 青島, Hepburn: Aoshima), also known as Cat Island (Japanese: 猫の島, Hepburn: Neko no shima), is an island in Ehime Prefecture, Japan, known for its large number of feline residents and small number of people. Felines have been reported by news outlets to outnumber humans by ratios between 6:1^[2] and 10:1,^[3] but as elderly inhabitants of the island have died, the ratio has greatly increased, to almost 36:1.^{[note 1]} Cats were introduced to combat rodents on fishing boats but remained on the island and reproduced in large numbers.^[6][7][2]

Aoshima

Native name: 青島
Aerial view of Aoshima in 1981
Aoshima Location in Japan
Geography
Location	Seto Inland Sea
Coordinates	33.736°N 132.482°E / 33.736; 132.482
Area	0.49 km2 (0.19 sq mi)
Coastline	4.2 km (2.61 mi)
Highest elevation	90.8 m (297.9 ft)
Administration
Japan
Region	Shikoku
Prefecture	Ehime Prefecture
City	Ōzu, Ehime
Demographics
Population	4[1] (2024)
Ethnic groups	Japanese

The feline inhabitants of Aoshima are fed by food donations from all over Japan.^[8] They also eat small animals on the island and food from visitors.

The island is roughly 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) long.^{[citation needed]} It was formerly part of Nagahama in Kita District, but as of 2005^[update], it is part of Ōzu city.

The human population on the island has decreased since sardine fisheries became depleted and jobs moved to cities. As of December 2024, only four people are still living on Aoshima, while the number of cats has dropped to 80.^[1]

Overview

Originally, Aoshima was an uninhabited island. The village was formed in 1639 by the collective relocation of 16 families and their descendants from Sakoshi Village in Banshu (now Sakoshi [ja], Akō city), and developed as a sardine fishing village with a secondary farming industry.^[9]

Aoshima was a fishing village supported by the sardine trade;^[9][10] the fishermen would bring cats with them to control the rodent problem, eventually leaving cats on the island as they departed. That's when the cat population began growing. Eventually the cat population grew thanks to the support of locals. However, with years the sardine trade has dwindled and the majority of people abandoned the island to seek better life on the mainland.

The Aoshima Elementary School was closed in March 1979 and has since been used as a community center, and is currently used as a temporary accommodation facility for visitors to the island.^[11]

As of 2024, the number of off-limit areas in Aoshima is increasing. The road leading to the breakwater has been closed off. Entry to areas inhabited by islanders is prohibited. Due to weather conditions (typhoons, heavy rains, strong winds), abandoned houses have collapsed and blocked some roads. There is a possibility that the island will become uninhabited in five years.^[12]

Population

In 1945, the island was a fishing village with a population of approximately 900.^[6][2] The number of households peaked at 165 in 1960.^[9]

In 2013, the island was estimated to be home to 50 residents.^{[citation needed]} In 2018, Ehime Shimbun reported that the population had decreased to 13 with an average age of "over 75".^[3] In 2019, The Asahi Shimbun Globe reported that only six residents remained on the island.^[4] The island attracts tourists who visit the cats and give them food.^[2]

The feline population of the island has been reported as between 120 and 130 between 2015 and 2018.^[3][6]

In February 2018, it was reported by Ehime Shimbun that all cats on the island would be spayed or neutered in order to lower the feline population as a response to the declining human population.^[3] By October, 210 cats had been spayed and neutered, with another estimated 10 cats uncaptured that had been hidden by an old resident who opposed the program.^[5]

The New York Times reported on May 10, 2023, that the island's human population has dropped to five.^[13]

In December 2024 the inhabitants are only 4 elderly people and 80 cats, the last ones all aged over seven, and of which a third is battling illnesses, including blindness and respiratory diseases, caused by decades of inbreeding.^[1]

Transport links

Aoshima is accessible via a ferry departing from in front of JR Iyo-Nagahama Station in Port Nagahama, which takes around 30 minutes.^[14]

Gallery

• 
  Cats scooping food from the islanders at the port.
• 
  Designated cat feeding area a few minutes from the port. The back is Aoshima Shrine.
• 
  Cats eating food given at the designated cat feeding area.

See also

• Ainoshima (Shingū), also known as "Cat Heaven Island"
• Tashirojima, also known as "Cat Island"
• Ōkunoshima, known as "Rabbit Island"

Notes

1. As of 2019, Asahi Shimbun Globe reports the human population at 6,^[4] and AERA dot reports that there were at least 220 cats on the island in October 2018.^[5]