"Leave Tokyo" vs "Come to Tokyo, We'll Give Cash" Japan Government vs Tokyo Metropolitan Government Policy Clash Controversy

Tokyo Governor Proposes Monthly 5,000 Yen Child Allowance
Japanese Government Offers 1 Million Yen Per Migrant Child in Tokyo

Governor Yuriko Koike of Tokyo. (Photo by AP Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Yuriko Koike, Governor of Tokyo, has announced a plan to provide 5,000 yen (about 48,000 won) monthly to infants, children, and students aged 0 to 18 living in Tokyo, sparking controversy. This comes after the Japanese government introduced measures to alleviate population concentration in Tokyo, while a local government policy was announced that actually attracts people to Tokyo. Amid concerns that this is a populist measure, some analysts suggest that Governor Koike, ahead of the election, deliberately issued a conflicting support plan to inflate her profile.

On the 5th, Asahi Shimbun reported an interview with Governor Koike regarding her cash support policy for low birthrates. Koike announced the day before that regardless of income, infants, children, and students aged 0 to 18 residing in Tokyo would receive 5,000 yen monthly. The 5,000 yen amount reflects the average difference in education expenses between Tokyo and other regions. In short, it is a low birthrate measure under the name of education expense support. Koike stated, "After reviewing the specific payment method, we plan to include the related expenses in this year’s budget proposal."

This is also a point of discord between the Japanese government and Governor Koike. Earlier, the Japanese government announced that starting from the new year, families living in Tokyo who move to local areas would receive 1 million yen per child under 18. While the government is concerned about local extinction caused by population concentration in the metropolitan area, the Tokyo governor announced a policy that draws attention toward Tokyo.

There is also analysis that Koike deliberately issued a conflicting support plan ahead of next year’s local elections. With the Kishida Cabinet recording historically low approval ratings and talks about the next cabinet emerging, she has begun a full-scale "profile inflation."

Governor Koike is mentioned alongside Digital Minister Taro Kono and Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura as potential candidates for the next prime minister. She has broken the glass ceiling in conservative Japanese politics with titles such as "the first female Defense Minister" and "the first female Governor of Tokyo," and has promoted initiatives like "Tokyo Major Reform 2.0," leaving an impression as a reformist figure to the public.

Above all, having been elected as an independent Tokyo governor, she has the advantage of appealing to public opinion dissatisfied with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Although Koike is originally from the LDP and is considered a de facto pro-government figure, she was excluded from the LDP nomination in the 2016 Tokyo gubernatorial election and ran as an independent.

In fact, in the interview with Asahi Shimbun, when asked, "The government is also implementing low birthrate measures; what do you think about the Kishida administration’s policy?" Koike sharply criticized, saying, "The LDP has discussed various women’s policies, but nothing has changed," and added, "I question whether any administration has truly been determined to prepare low birthrate measures and has worked hard on women’s participation. The low birthrate is now showing in the numbers, isn’t it?"

Along with criticism of the discord, concerns about the measure being populist follow. Asahi Shimbun analyzed, "The population under 18 in Tokyo is about 1.93 million, and a simple calculation shows it would cost 120 billion yen (1.15 trillion won) annually," adding, "Since there is no income restriction, criticism that it is a populist measure cannot be avoided."

A Japanese regional newspaper also criticized Koike’s policy as "self-contradictory," referring to her past remarks. The column stated, "Koike herself, when she was an LDP member of parliament, criticized the Democratic Party’s child allowance policy that provided 13,000 yen monthly to parents raising children under 15 as merely a populist policy that shifts responsibility to voters," and pointedly added, "We hope Koike’s current policy is not just a populist policy that merely supports voters."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.