The Japanese government is significantly increasing the amount of money it offers families to leave the bustling metropolis and move to rural areas that are experiencing population decline.
Starting in April, the incentive will provide families with 1 million yen, or $7,500 per child, to move out of Tokyo and relocate to rural areas that have suffered from population decline. the guardian reported.
The previous relocation fee had been 300,000 yen per child and the new incentive comes as lawmakers try to encourage young people to move to rural cities to counter the influx of younger people to bigger cities like Tokyo and Osaka.
Families, already eligible for up to 3 million yen of additional government support, will qualify for the program if they live in Tokyo’s 23 “core” wards along with the neighboring neighborhoods of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa.
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People walk through a busy shopping street on July 24, 2021 in Tokyo.
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The program is structured to prevent families from taking the cash and then rushing back to the capital. Families must live in their new home for at least five years with at least one family member and must get a job or open a new business.
If those requirements are not met, the money must be returned to the government.
Tokyo’s population fell for the first time in 2022, which some attribute to the coronavirus pandemic, but lawmakers believe the world’s largest city of 35 million will continue to battle overcrowding.
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The illuminated Tokyo Tower stands among the commercial and residential buildings that dominate the Tokyo night skyline on December 8, 2022.
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The initiative was launched three years ago and has struggled to gain traction. Approximately 1,200 families took advantage of the program in 2021, when remote work became more common, compared to 71 families in 2019 and 290 in 2020.
The government expects 10,000 people to have moved from Tokyo to rural areas by 2027.
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Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York City on September 20, 2022.
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Rural towns and villages have been touted as family-friendly areas with charming locations, easy access to childcare and the availability of young men as the country continues to witness lower birth rates and a struggling economy.
The number of births in Japan totaled 811,604 in 2021, which was the lowest recorded since the statistic began tracking in 1899. At the same time, the number of people aged 100 and over stands at 90,500 compared to just 153. in 1963.
