This sum comes on top of the 3 million yen which families can already claim if they wish to leave urban life and settle in more remote areas of the country.
A great incentive to leave town. As reported in an article by Japanese Kyodo News Agencythe Japanese government will offer from April up to 1 million yen per child, or about 7,300 euros, to all families moving from the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Objective of this proposal: to reduce the concentration of population in the region of the capital, but also to repopulate abandoned rural regions of the country.
1300 municipalities concerned
Proof of Japan’s desire to make things happen, this new sum comes on top of the 3 million yen in financial support already granted to families who move. This incentive concerns in particular the inhabitants of the 23 districts of Tokyo which make up the central metropolitan area, but also of certain neighboring prefectures such as Saitama, Chiba or Kanagawa.
Opposite, 1,300 municipalities participate in this program and are waiting for their new inhabitants and their children. They are located outside the Japanese metropolitan areas and suffer for the most part from the departure of young people to the big cities. To this must be added an aging population, combined with a low birth rate for the whole of Japan.
As pointed out by the Guardian, the payment of this sum is logically subject to several conditions. Thus, families must live for at least five years in their new accommodation and, if not, must repay the allocated sum. In addition, it is also requested that at least one of the family members works in a business in the region, or else opens a new business locally.
By 2027, authorities hope that 10,000 people will have moved from Tokyo to these rural townships.
