Japan's government has adopted a comprehensive regional revitalization strategy at a cabinet meeting to build a strong economy. Covering five years from fiscal 2025, the plan targets raising rural labor productivity to match or exceed Tokyo's metropolitan area by 2029. It focuses on attracting domestic and foreign demand while enhancing rural appeal and infrastructure.
To achieve a strong economy as envisioned by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration, Japan's government approved a comprehensive regional revitalization strategy during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Spanning five years from fiscal 2025, the plan seeks to elevate per-person labor productivity in rural areas to levels matching or surpassing those in the Tokyo metropolitan area and the neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa by 2029, through initiatives like developing digital human resources.
Emphasizing sustainable local economies, the strategy highlights the need to draw domestic and foreign demand to rural regions for profitability. Key measures include leveraging local resources to attract inbound visitors, supporting local industries in expanding their markets, and encouraging companies to relocate headquarters from Tokyo to countryside areas. It also promotes making rural locales more appealing to women and young people to alleviate population overcrowding in the capital.
New targets for fiscal 2027 include boosting the number of migrants from Tokyo to rural areas to 10,000 and increasing local governments actively fostering 'connected populations'—people who engage with regions beyond their official residence—to 1,200. The plan further addresses improving living conditions by sustaining public transportation services and bolstering disaster mitigation efforts. It aims to resolve transportation shortages in around 2,000 nationwide areas by fiscal 2027, using methods such as introducing autonomous vehicles.
Overall, this approach intends to foster national economic resilience by revitalizing rural Japan.