comment: >
  
  I'm not living in Tokyo, where is my money?
context: Or the Japanese govt pushes the companies to remote hire in these areas.
  How's the internet in these areas. >
  
  If it’s anything like South Korea they have dirt cheap fiber to every doorstep. And free wifi everywhere. Emphasis on to the door. It isn’t copper to the door like Verizon does. >
  
  South Korea is legendary for their internet speeds. Japan is way behind them on it. Used to be very, very far behind but it's gotten better. >
  
  I always assumed Japan would be similar. SK knocks internet, free wifi, and public transit out of the freaking park. >
  
  Or rather, to every Park. >
  
  Park sung Kim Lee >
  
  Headline is misleading. The government's motive for these measures is to stem the bleeding from rural communities.
  
  Current migration patterns are resulting in deserted hometowns with few children. In the riverside village of Nagoro in southern Japan, there were fewer than 30 residents in 2019, with the youngest resident over the age of 50. The village’s only school shut down a few years ago after its last students graduated.
  To combat these issues, authorities launched an initiative in 2019 to attract people to regional areas. >
  
  Is it misleading to show both sides of the problem? 
  
  For decades, people across Japan have migrated to its urban centers seeking job opportunities. Tokyo is the country’s most populous city, with roughly 37 million residents. 
  Before the Covid pandemic, the number of people moving into Tokyo outnumbered those leaving the city by up to 80,000 each year, according to government statistics released in 2021. 
  Meanwhile, in major cities, space has rapidly run out and prices have skyrocketed. Tokyo is consistently one of the world’s most expensive cities to live in, ranking fifth globally in 2022. >
  
  Cities are typically self-regulating, as people generally don't move to them unless they feel confident that they can get a job that covers the higher expenses.
  Rural towns get abandoned because the lower cost of living can't make up for the lack of services and amenities, and this creates a negative feedback loop as people leave, and evrn fewer services and amenities are available. You need an external force to break such a spiral, which is what government incentives hope to achieve.
  While big cities may seem like a positive feedback loop, this isn't as much of problem because it will eventually reach an equilibrium of population density. In declining negative feedback loop towns, this equilibrium is 0.
  Big cities also enjoy big economy of scale benefits. It's usually much more efficient when more people can use the same infrastructure and amenities. >
  
  The thing is, we need to be piling into cities.  People will bemoan the death of rural townships but a lot of communities only ever existed because of resources they were built around.  There are a lot of towns, and hell even some cities, which should just bite the dust.  There's absolutely no reason why we should need to have as insane a goods distribution infrastructure as we currently have.
  The problem is, media consistently glamorizes rural living, and people make a cultural thing out of it.  And they demonize city life, focusing on the worst parts. >
  
  This is an incredibly weird view, and potentially very damaging.
  Those rural communities frequently serve as important agricultural centers or distribution hubs.   They are often the source of the goods that enable cities to be so centralized. >
  
  But as an ever-smaller share of the population works in agriculture, it's normal for those rural areas to lose population.  Automation is only going to improve.  And innovations like cultured meat and the rest of cellular agriculture are only going to accelerate that.  Plus Japan, like many other places, is investing in vertical farms, which are often located in or near the cities, closer to customers.  
  
  Share of the labor force employed in agriculture
  Number of people living in urban and rural areas, Japan
  Number of people living in urban and rural areas, European Union
  Number of people living in urban and rural areas, United Kingdom
  Number of people living in urban and rural areas, United States
  Number of people living in urban and rural areas, Brazil
  Number of people living in urban and rural areas, Mexico
  Number of people living in urban and rural areas, Indonesia >
  
  
  But as an ever-smaller share of the population works in agriculture, it's normal for those rural areas to lose population. 
  
  yes, but there's a big difference between 'lower population' and  
  
  The thing is, we need to be piling into cities. People will bemoan the death of rural townships but a lot of communities only ever existed because of resources they were built around. There are a lot of towns, and hell even some cities, which should just bite the dust. >
  
  I take that "should" to mean economically, not a moral imperative.  I think it's a given that many towns only exist due to a local industry/plant/mill etc that is long gone.  Some were situated along rivers just due to running water being the power source x years ago.  Or maybe it was a coal mine that has closed.  Any number of things.  Towns are not guaranteed permanent economic viability.  You can subsidize them, but that something works so long as you throw money at it is true of any number of things. >
  
  The only way they'll get people out of Tokyo and back to more rural areas is if the government puts more pressure on companies to go remote or very semi-remote (rare treks back to the office).
  You can get fiber to the house in many rural areas of Japan, so connectivity isn't an issue. The real problem is fighting business culture that has placed huge value on face-time in the office.
  There are other problems associated with this issue though. In particular, its a very chicken and egg problem when it comes to schools. The people most likely to relocate to the countryside are going to be families. Some rural communities don't have schools in the area past elementary (Grade K-6). This often results in kids having to travel by local bus (not school bus), sometimes over an hour, to get to middle schools or high schools. 
  High schools can be particularly problematic because there is more value placed on which school you go to since it tends to prepare you for better colleges. In Japan, your high school isn't usually tied to your "residential district;" there can be an application and testing process to get into a lot of high schools. Rural areas usually only have 1 to 2 high schools to pick from, and that second high school might be a 1.5 hour commute (one-way) to get to. Compare this to like Tokyo where you have over 100 high schools across the city (some of these may be residence-locked though??). >
  
  My wife is from Aomori and I was there in November and took one of the old electric trains she used to take to school. It was so slow and rough but its only option with no car so if you don't have a car in rural Japan or train stop, you are SOL >
  
  I live in Aomori currently, and I'll say that I'm extremely surprised anyone is able to use the trains, especially during the terrible winters we have here. With that being said, I don't know anyone around that doesn't have a car around here, I can second that you'd be SOL without a car. >
  
  I was so cool seeing my wife's hometown after she sent me pictures of the brewery and retired public bathhouse when we first met online years ago.
  But yeah, we had a 4wd Toyota yaris like car and now I can see why, thank God we didn't have snow at end of November while we were there. It was such an amazing treat to see her hometown and area.
  And holy crap is that train to Hirosaki a rough ride. My wife felt weird that she was back on her school train with her foreign husband lol >
  
  Will they pay me not to move there? I know it's a longshot but I need the money and I'm not above threatening  to be an insane homeless American in Japan for cash. >
  
  No harm in trying. >
  
  In 2012 I went back to visit my family's ancestral village in Wakayama (they immigrated to the US before WW2), and it took 3 hours to get there by train, and the train back didn't leave for another 3 hours since it only stopped there 3 times a day. No one in that village could possibly commute to any sort of job so I see why they all left. My cousins told me later that no one takes the train there and they all drive, but it still takes hours to get anywhere from there. >
  
  Nah man you can just take a bullet train to Tokyo for like $16!/s
  Plenty of people making that argument in Worldnews >
  
  The public infrastructure in Japan is super great in the cities, but anyone who says it's cheap has no idea what they're talking about. And the tolls... oh god the tolls. >
  
  Compared to what you get vs what you pay in Seattle for public transport, I'll gladly pay extra for very clean trains and buses with people who don't talk and always wear masks. My time in Tokyo was amazing >
  
  There are so many beautiful places in Japan that just need an influx of cash and new residents. >
  
  Norway does something similar. You get great tax breaks if you move to certain areas. Some people don't get why they just don't invite migrants, but its about preserving a special part of culture. Immigration would not solve that. >
  
  Like 8k USD.
  That would barely cover moving expenses here. Like, I would suck a dick for 8k, with gusto I might add, but I would need way more to move. >
  
  Man. I have like 3 dicks of student loans to pay back… >
  
  Currently in Tokyo (in Japan for just over a month, visiting a variety of areas.) There’s a pretty large WFH push going on.
  It’s crowded. It’s expensive. But the land here is developed more than any major city in the US so it’s pretty functional and convenient. 
  Personally, I believe there needs to be a larger push for immigration to fill up some of those rural spots but that won’t happen for numerous reasons. >
  
  This is more about fighting the decline in birth-rates rather than overcrowding in Tokyo. What a stupid headline. >
  
  Cities being overcrowded hellholes gets the clicks.  Reddit in particular loves the narrative that cities are so done. >
  
  Well, one solution they could consider is to allow immigration.  I would live in a small town in the south end of Japan if that was possible.  It's absolutely beautiful. >
  
  Yeah but its japan. They wouldnt let you anyways >
  
  Emigrating to Japan is nowhere near as hard as the media makes it out to be. There's a very clearly defined process for gaining residency and eventually citizenship if you want it. >
  
  The tricky thing with Japanese citizenship is you have to to renounce your current citizenship to apply, so you can end up stateless if something goes wrong. >
  
  Or in my wife's case, she had to give her Japanese citizenship if she wants to be usa citizen.  She said no way in hell >
  
  I thought the US allowed multiple citizenships? I know Brits who have both American and British passports. >
  
  Yes but Japan does not >
  
  This is interesting because the U.S. has similar issues but just far less concentrated. 
  And young people are missing out. If you can work remote there are many small towns where you can buy a home for a reasonable price and have good Internet to work remote. And sure, you give up many city amenities, but some of those pop up in small towns if there is a demand. 
  My tiny rural town is right on a Great Lake. My Internet is better than what I could get in the Twin Cities. You can’t go see a pro sports team or opera or see any movie that is released here, and if you want variety in restaurants you’re hosed. But we do have a theater. We have cool outdoor concerts in the Summer. We have a food co-op and art shows and several funky little places to eat. We even have a game store, lol. And my house cost under 100K for 3 1/2 bedrooms. But best of all? I am about 15 minutes from a state forest and five minutes from beaches. 
  Young people are missing a chance to move to these places. Yeah it’s cold in Winter and half the Spring. That just means you can cross-country ski instead of going to a gym. 👍 >
  
  Wife lived in Tokyo Edogawa district till we married in Hawaii to start her immigration back in 2019 so I've done my part. Just came back from Tokyo last month for 2nd time, it's amazing how much shit and people are crammed into that city
  She used to work as a traveling senior care nurse for a lot of neglected and ignored seniors and in remote Japan towns, it's even worse and most young people leave Japan entirely for better things and leave older people. Japan has a real crisis in the next decade >
  
  Need to move to Tokyo. >
  
  1 million yen per kid? Well that's generous, or not. >
  
  It's about $7,500 USD. Make your own decision. >
  
  Which is not a lot when you have to move somewhere else. Especially to an area that probably offers less amenities, schools or public services. Without even mentioning jobs. It doesn't seem like a very good deal to me. >
  
  They should build more stacks of habitat pods >
  
  They actually just tore down the Nakagin Capsule Tower in 2022. >
  
  Good move before Godzilla sets up shop again .