Japan Is, Paying Families , to Leave Tokyo.
CNN reports that the government of Japan has
offered to pay families to move out of Tokyo
in an effort to boost plummeting birth rates. .
In April, families living in Tokyo will be eligible
to receive $7,700 per child if they choose to
move to less-populated towns across the country.
Tokyo is Japan's most populous city,
boasting a population of
approximately 37 million people. .
According to government statistics released in 2021,
prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city's population
had been growing by up to 80,000 people each year. .
Combined with the country's rapidly aging
population, the migration pattern has left many
rural towns with fewer and fewer residents.
Outside of Tokyo, over half of the municipalities
in Japan are expected to be designated
as underpopulated areas in 2022.
CNN reports that Japan has long been suffering from
low birth rates and has seen the number of annual deaths
outpace the number of births in recent years.
Tokyo also has the lowest
fertility rate of all prefectures in Japan. .
CNN reports that this is not the Japanese
government's first attempt to use financial
incentives to encourage people to relocate. .
Other efforts to combat population decline in Japan
have included bolstering child care services, improving
housing facilities and even paying people to have children.