Maaseudun Tulevaisuus visits Luoto on Finland's west coast. What makes the municipality special is its population structure.

"Our population pyramid is a pyramid in the true sense, and it's the right way up," municipal manager Marcus Henricson told MT.

The municipality is set to surpass 6,000 residents this year, of whom roughly 1,000 are in primary school. The population has grown steadily over the past two decades, driven mainly by high birth rates.

A significant factor is the influence of Laestadianism, particularly its conservative branch, which counts for more than a third of residents among its adherents. Larger families, with three to five children, are widely regarded as the norm.

Unemployment in Luoto is also the lowest in the country, standing at just 2.1 percent.

Luoto is meanwhile the most Swedish-speaking municipality in mainland Finland, with 92 percent of residents speaking it as their first language.

Finns Party caricatures surface in Japanese manga

Illustrated figures resembling members of the Finns Party have found their way into a Japanese comic, reports Helsingin Sanomat. In the manga titled Taekwondo Park, a Korean martial artist confronts eye-pulling Finnish politicians.

The strip depicts characters closely modelled on Finnish politicians Juho Eerola and Sebastian Tynkkynen, shown pulling at the corners of their eyes.

The imagery alludes to the incident in December, when Eerola published a photograph of himself making a similar gesture.

Among other things, the incident triggered outrage among Asian communities in Finland and was reported by media outlets across several Asian countries.

Crown Bridges open

This coming weekend will mark a minor historic moment in Helsinki, as the Crown Bridges spanning 1,119 metres open in their entirety to the public.

The trio of bridges link Hakaniemi in central Helsinki with the eastern island suburb of Laajasalo.

Pedestrians will be the first to cross, with cyclists following a few hours later. Tram services, meanwhile, are scheduled to begin operating in early 2027, according to Hufvudstadsbladet.