Japan offers women cash rewards if they agree to get married and move to rural areas
Japanese officials are facing mixed reactions over a recent proposal to offer financial rewards to urban women who agree to get married and move to the countryside.
Social media in Japan is spreading information about a proposed reward of up to 600,000 yen (approximately 4,100USD) for women willing to settle outside Tokyo and get married. This idea was proposed at a meeting on August 30 to narrow the gender gap between rural and urban areas. Unmarried women living in Tokyo’s 23 central wards will be eligible for the new policy.
But the problem is that the proposal has sparked heated debate online, with most users criticizing the plan as sexist. “Do they really think that an educated, financially independent woman would marry a country man and leave Tokyo just for money? Is this idea serious?” asked one user. Another commenter wrote: “Why don’t they give money to men who marry rural women and leave their dream city life?
This is not the first time the Japanese government has offered incentives to encourage people to leave city centers. Previous measures provided individuals with up to 600,000 yen or 1 million yen for households to move to rural areas instead of staying in Tokyo. These people can work remotely or find jobs closer to their new home.
Japan’s rural areas are struggling with severe population decline as the country ages. In many small towns, the number of children has decreased to the point that some towns have no children at all. This is a big problem giving Japanese authorities a headache as population aging is happening more and more rapidly in their country.
The main reason for this demographic change is that young women often move to big cities, especially Tokyo, for better educational and career opportunities – a trend that is less common among men young.
A study from April 2024 found that more than 40% of Japan’s cities are at risk of disappearing due to a sharp decline in the population of women between the ages of 20 and 30.
In June, Japan’s Ministry of Health released alarming statistics showing that the country’s birth rate had dropped to a record low of 1.2 in 2023, previously at 1.26 in 2020. This is the 8th consecutive year of decline. The current birth rate is much lower than the 2.1 rate needed to maintain a stable population, leading Japan’s health ministry to describe the situation as “critical”.
“Many factors, such as economic instability, difficulties in arranging work and raising children, are the reasons why the birth rate continues to decline,” said a Japanese Ministry of Health official.
