Overcrowded capital
One million yen per child: Japan wants to encourage families to move to the countryside
With more than 37 million inhabitants, Tokyo is the most populous metropolitan area on the planet
© Morio Taga / Picture Alliance
Japan is not only struggling with population decline, but also with rural exodus: almost every third Japanese now lives in the metropolitan area of the capital Tokyo. Because the metropolis is bursting at the seams, the government lures people to the countryside.
More than 37 million people live in the Tokyo metropolitan area. This makes the Japanese capital the most populous metropolis on the planet. And the city is not only bursting at the seams itself – at the same time the population in the countryside is shrinking. To counteract this, the government is drastically increasing an existing relocation bonus: a family from Tokyo is to receive one million yen (7,260 euros) per child if they look for a new home outside the city limits. In addition to other subsidies, families should be able to receive the equivalent of more than 20,000 euros in help.
Government Reserves Money Back Guarantee
All families with children under the age of 18 living in one of the 23 core counties or in one of the neighboring commuter prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa should be entitled to the bonus. The British “Guardian” reports, citing the Japanese news agency Kyodo, that those who move to the unpopular, mountainous areas within the city limits should also be paid. In addition, at least one family member must either find a new job locally, continue the old job in the home office or start their own company in their new home, according to the Japanese business newspaper “Nikkei”. Half of the premium is to be financed by the Japanese government and half by the municipalities. However, the government reserves a money-back guarantee. A family should move back to Tokyo after five years at the earliest – otherwise the state will demand the premium back.
The lure offer is nothing new in itself – so far, however, the subsidy has been significantly lower, at 300,000 yen (around 2,200 euros). The new regulation will apply from April.
As the “Guardian” goes on to write, since the program was launched three years ago, only a few families have taken advantage of the bonus. Only the corona-related expansion of the home office provided a boost in 2021. According to “Nikkei”, the initiators hope that at least 10,000 people will move to the country by 2027.
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Japan is struggling with rural exodus – and above all with population decline
Many villages in Japan’s rural areas now resemble ghost towns. Especially the few young people are attracted to big cities like Tokyo or Osaka. As the “Financial Times” writes, around ten million apartments are expected to be empty by 2023. At the same time, property prices in major cities have skyrocketed in recent years.
However, Japan is not only struggling with rural exodus, but also with aging and a general decline in population. Of the According to the Japan Times only 800,000 children were born in 2022 – a historic low since records began in 1899. In 2021, the birth rate of 1.3 per woman was well below the necessary limit of 2.1, which is needed to maintain the current population figure.
According to forecasts, the Japanese population will increase by 2050 shrink by around 20 million people. At the same time, people are getting older here. In 1950 seniors aged 65 and over still made up almost five percent of the total population, they should make up more than a third in 2050.
Sources: “Guardians“; “Japan Times“; “Financial Times“; “Statista”