The Japanese government is offering 1 million yen ($7,500) per child to families fleeing the capital Tokyo, with the aim of reorienting residents to sparsely populated regions.
Authorities in Japan are increasing forms of incentives to lure people to smaller regional areas with a small, mostly elderly population.
The stimulus is significantly higher than last year’s “relocation” payment, as part of an official effort to revive declining towns and villages.
Although Tokyo’s population fell for the first time last year – a trend partly attributed to the coronavirus pandemic – authorities believe more needs to be done to reduce the city’s population density, and encourage people to start new lives in parts of the city. of the country hit by an aging and shrinking population and the migration of young people to Tokyo, Osaka and other big cities.
The payment – which will range from one to three million yen in financial support – will be offered to families living in the 23 central Tokyo wards and neighboring Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures.
To receive the benefits, families must move outside the greater Tokyo area, while some may receive cash if they move to mountainous areas within the city limits.
The government hopes that around ten thousand people will move from Tokyo to rural areas by 2027.