The number of people moving into Tokyo increased by 4.7%
I wonder if the “unipolar concentration” in Tokyo has started again.Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced at the end of January2022 migration reportAccording to the report, the “number of people moving into Tokyo” was 439,787, an increase of 19,620 from 420,167 in 2009, an increase of 4.7%.
On the other hand, the “number of out-migrants” decreased by 3.1%, and the “excess number of in-migrants”, which is the difference between in-migrants and out-migrants, was 32,590. With the spread of telecommuting due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, there was a boom in people escaping from Tokyo and moving to rural areas, but it seems that this has already run out of steam.
The “number of people moving in” in Tokyo decreased for two consecutive years, 2020 and 2021, when the new coronavirus spread, while the “number of people moving out” increased. As a whole, there was an excess of in-migration, but the speed was greatly slowed down by the new corona disaster. However, in 2022, the “concentration” to Tokyo will gain momentum again. Even in the Tokyo metropolitan area, which includes Kanagawa and Chiba, the number of excess immigrants is again increasing. “Urban areas” such as Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka are attracting people.
Rural population decline is already catastrophic
Of course, the concentration of population in “cities” is nothing new. According to statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, as of 1955, 37.2% of the population lived in the three major metropolitan areas. . However, during the period of rapid economic growth, people rapidly moved from rural areas to urban areas to compensate for labor shortages at companies. People flocked to urban areas in search of “company jobs” that would provide salary income. In 1975, the urban population was said to have reached 75.9%, making it one of the world’s most densely populated cities.
“We will correct the excessive concentration in Tokyo.” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said so in an answer to the Diet. In his policy speech at the beginning of the year, he said, “Promoting regional revitalization and revitalizing local areas is the source of Japan’s economic revitalization.” However, the reality is that the population decline is already devastating, far from revitalizing rural areas.
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For example, in the case of Akita Prefecture, which is often cited as a prefecture with a declining population, it had a population of 1.2 million until 1998, but fell below 1.1 million in 2009 and fell below 1 million in 2017. As of October 2022, the number has fallen below 930,000. The declining population is a total loss.
