International
oi-Prakash KL
Tokyo,
Jan
04:
In
an
attempt
to
move
out
the
population
from
the
capital
Tokyo
to
rural
places,
Japan
is
offering
its
citizens
1
million
Yen
(Rs
6.36
lakh)
per
child
if
they
relocate
to
rural
areas.
From
300,000
relocation
fee,
the
government
has
revised
the
amount
to
1
million
Yen
which
will
come
to
effect
from
April
2023.
As
per
the
scheme,
a
household
will
receive
3
million
yen
for
leaving
Tokyo
city.
Even
though
population
in
the
capital
witnessed
a
drop
(partly
due
to
Covid-19
pandemic),
the
government
belives
that
enough
needs
to
be
done
to
bring
down
population
density
and
to
encourage
people
to
begin
their
lives
in
other
parts
of
the
country
which
have
been
affected
by
issues
such
as
ageing,
shrinking
populations
and
youngsters
migrating
to
big
cities
like
Tokyo
and
Osaka,
as
per
a
report.
The
policy
makers
are
hoping
that
10,000
people
might
have
left
Tokyo
to
rural
areas
by
2027.
In
2021,
1,184
families
moved
out
of
Tokyo,
290
in
2020
and
71
in
2019.
Criteria
to
be
Eligible
for
this
Scheme
People
who
want
to
relocate
has
to
meet
one
of
the
three
criteria
–
work
at
a
small
or
midsize
company
in
the
area
or
continue
to
work
in
the
old
jobs
via
work-from-home
or
start
a
new
business
in
their
new
home.
India-Japan
defence
relations
go
deeper,
set
for
first-ever
bilateral
combat
air
exercise
According
to
news
agency
Kyodo,
the
central
government
and
local
municipalities
will
contribute
50
per
cent
each
for
the
people
who
relocate
to
rural
areas.
The
government
is
hoping
10,000
people
will
have
moved
from
Tokyo
to
rural
areas
by
2027,
it
added.
Japan,
the
world’s
third-biggest
economy,
introduced
the
scheme
three
years
ago
after
the
population
witnessed
a
record
fall
of
644,000
in
2020-21,
according
to
government
data.
By
2065,
it
is
likely
to
drop
by
30
per
cent.
The
overall
fertility
rate
—
the
average
number
of
children
born
to
a
woman
in
her
lifetime
—
slid
for
a
sixth
straight
year,
to
1.3
in
2021.
There
were
811,604
births
in
2021,
the
fewest
in
health
ministry
data
going
back
to
1899.
Deaths
climbed
to
1,439,809,
leading
to
an
overall
drop
of
628,205
in
the
population,
according
to
Reuters.
Story first published: Wednesday, January 4, 2023, 13:20 [IST]
