Japan has indeed experienced a fairly severe decline in birth rates, but the capital city of Tokyo is still very crowded. So the Japanese government offered quite a large amount of money for those who wanted to move from Tokyo and live in rural areas where the population was decreasing.
The government will offer money worth 1 million yen per child or , for families who want to leave Tokyo and live in other areas for at least 5 years.
This money is in addition to the previous program introduced in April 2022, where there was USD 30,000 in money, as relocation support. Because the numbers were large, some residents felt interested, although some were doubtful.
"My husband is originally from outside Tokyo, but because of his work here, it's hard to move. His head office is in Tokyo. It's unrealistic for us to live outside this city," said Risa Kurokata, a Tokyo resident.
The UN calls Tokyo the world's largest urban area, with 37 million people living in and around the city. About 30% of Japan's population lives in the Tokyo area. Inevitably Tokyo is very congested and claustrophobic.
As quoted by us from the CBC, this raises several concerns. For example, it is predicted that there will be a major earthquake in Tokyo in the next 3 decades, so there is concern that there will be many victims.
Then, the exodus of young people from other areas to Tokyo, which is the economic, political and cultural center of Japan, has threatened the population outside the capital city. Areas in rural Japan are aging and decreasing in population, even threatened with extinction in the future.
Subsidies for those who want to move from Tokyo are seen as less effective as a solution. According to Keisuke Kondo, a researcher from the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, the problem is the traditional office system that requires employees to come to the office.
"If only companies offered flexible systems, such as allowing more employees to work remotely, employees would move out of Tokyo," he said.