Tokyo is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, while Japan’s rural areas suffer from an aging population and declining birth rates.
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According to multiple media reports, the Japanese government will pay up to 1 million yen ($7,670) per child if they choose to move out of Tokyo.
The government was already offering 300,000 yen per child to families relocated to other parts of the country.
The move comes as authorities attempt to disperse densely populated Japan’s metropolitan areas, improve declining birth rates and diversify aging populations in more rural areas.
According to Japan’s Bureau of Statistics, in 2021, 28.9% of Japan’s total population was at least 65 years old, a record high for the country. In the same year there were 14.78 million 0–14-year-old children, accounting for 11.8% of the total population, the lowest level ever recorded in Japan.
People living in 23 areas of Tokyo and local commuter hotspots will be eligible for the transfer money, according to a Press release From Kyodo News Agency. The financial assistance is expected to be received during FY 2023.
Recipients of the money must stay in their new field for at least five years while on the job and anyone who violates those rules will be asked to return the money.
Japan’s Cabinet Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported measure when contacted by CNBC.
Support is provided for children under 18 or children who are 18 but are still in their final year of high school.
Nauhiko Baba of Goldman Sachs said last year that more needed to be done to retain and grow Japan’s shrinking labor force.
Japanese corporations “need to offer much higher salaries” to try to attract people with specialized skills and improve competitiveness against competitors overseas, Baba told CNBC.Squawk Box Asia“In April 2022.
The aid program began in 2019, and in 2021 2,381 people moved out of metropolitan Tokyo and claimed the money, as reported by Kyodo.