The Japanese government is offering money to families to move away from the capital city Tokyo.
The scheme aims to encourage young people to move to less popular villages and towns around the edges of the city.
The scheme has been running for the last three years, but the government has recently announced that it is increasing the amount of money it is offering to just over $12,000 NZD per child. To be able to claim the money however, families must move outside the greater Tokyo area, live in their new homes for at least five years and one person must be in work or plan to open a new business.
Japanese officials hope that the offer will encourage families with children aged up to 18 to bring life to villages. This will help ease some of the pressure on space and public services in the centre of Tokyo. They hope around 10,000 people will move from Tokyo to the countryside around it by 2027.
Tokyo Facts
Tokyo is the world’s most populated city – which means it has the most people living in it. Around 37 million people calling the capital their home.
For comparison, the population of Auckland is around 1.6 million people.
Around 123 million people in total live in the country of Japan, which means that around a third of the country lives in one area.
WOAH