"Please Move In" Japanese Regional Cities with Populations Over One Million Also Strive to Secure Residents

Yokohama, Sapporo, Kobe, and Other Major Cities Launch Project to Recruit Migrants
Competition for Recruiting Migrants to Local Small Cities Expected to Intensify

In Japan, large cities with populations over one million, excluding Tokyo, have begun experiencing population shortages and are introducing 'migration projects.' As population decline due to low birth rates and aging becomes a serious social issue in Japan, concerns are growing as the remaining population increasingly concentrates in the capital, Tokyo, accelerating the extinction of regional areas.

On the 16th, Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported, "Five major cities that saw population declines this year are making efforts to retain residents." Among the 11 large cities with populations over one million, five cities?Yokohama, Sapporo, Kobe, Kyoto, and Hiroshima?experienced population decreases in January compared to the previous year.

Nikkei pointed out, "It is no longer possible to compensate for the 'natural decrease'?where the number of deaths exceeds births?with 'social increase,' where the number of incoming residents exceeds those leaving."

Yokohama City's migration promotion site. It emphasizes that it is a good place to raise children, close to nature, and convenient for transportation. (Photo by Yokohama Migration Site)

The city with the largest population decline is Kyoto. In July, Kyoto launched a 'Migration Support Team' involving companies. If companies prepare measures expected to promote migration, they can receive up to 200,000 yen (approximately 1.81 million KRW) in project funding, and if proposals come from multiple businesses, up to 1 million yen (approximately 9.05 million KRW) is provided.

As of the 29th of last month, 48 companies belong to this support team. One of them, 'Vacant House Bank Kyoto,' runs a project supporting housing issues for migrants. 'Nishizawa Stay,' which deals with real estate and accommodation, has started a pilot residency program. They promote the fact that working from home is fully possible after migration by creating shared office spaces.

Yokohama, the local government with the largest population among regional cities, also established a migration website in late August. Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka of Yokohama said, "Yokohama has also faced population decline in the past one or two years," adding, "It is necessary to firmly promote both domestically and internationally that this is a great place to live."

Kobe has significantly expanded subsidies for child-rearing generations and young couples moving in. For housing-related matters such as rental housing, remodeling of used homes, and new construction of detached houses, subsidies of up to 950,000 yen (approximately 8.6 million KRW) are provided.

As regional large cities actively take action, smaller regional cities with rapidly declining populations are expected to face difficult situations. Regional large cities are already making every effort to persuade people considering migration from Tokyo, where the population is concentrated, to move to the regions.

The Japanese government has been running a program since 2019 to support migration from the 23 wards of Tokyo to regional areas. Depending on the household, migration support funds of up to 1 million yen (approximately 9.06 million KRW) are provided, and up to 600,000 yen (approximately 5.43 million KRW) for individuals migrating alone. This year, large cities with populations over one million, such as Sapporo, Sendai, Nagoya, and Hiroshima, also participated in promoting migration.

Nikkei added, "Large cities are also competing to secure migrants, making the competition fierce," and emphasized, "Each local government must come up with effective measures."

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