Currently, temples across the country are facing a lack of successors and a decline in parishioners, which are serious problems facing modern temples. There are more than 70,000 temples in Japan, but it is said that over 20,000 of them have become "uninhabited temples" with no chief priest.
Furthermore, even among temples that currently have a chief priest, there are many that could become vacant at any time due to the lack of a successor or the aging of the chief priest. This lack of successors is a particular problem in rural areas, and a major factor is the loss of parishioners due to the outflow of population to cities.