Abstract
A well-known Masuda Report, published in 2014, proposed that Japan’s birth rate could be increased by encouraging the migration of young people from the Tokyo Metropolitan Area (TMA) to regional areas. The chapters in this section demonstrate that this proposal is based on a misreading of the facts.
Masayuki Nakagawa demonstrates that the birth rate is lower in the inner city than in the suburbs in most major metropolitan areas, and that the birth rates of many regional cities are lower than those of suburban cities in the TMA. Because of this, the migration of young people to regional areas would not increase Japan’s fertility rate.
Wataru Suzuki shows that improvement of the system of regional public finances would boost the fertility rate of the nation as a whole.
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Notes
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In the case of Sapporo, however, the birth rate is low despite the existence of a relatively large greater metropolitan area. Nakagawa (2018) indicates that the reason for this remains unclear.
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Note that the concept of the central government’s provision of “model benefits” for child hearing support is slowly related to that for medical and nursing cares for the aged discussed in Part IV.
References
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Hatta, Tatsuo (2016), “‘Kokuho no ‘Moderu-kyuhugaku’ Kokkohutanseido’ niyoru Chihososei (Regional Revitalization via a System for the Contribution of “Model Benefits” by the Government),” Japanese Journal of Health Economics and Policy, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 71–84 (In Japanese).
Masuda, Hiroya and The Japan Policy Council (2014), “Shometsu-kanosei Toshi 896 Zenrisuto no Shogeki: 523 wa Jinko 1-man-nin Ika (The Impact of the List of 896 Regional Cities that Might Disappear: 523 Have Populations of 10,000 or Less),” Chuo Koron, Vol. 129, No. 6, June 2014, pp. 32–43 (In Japanese).
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Nakagawa, Masayuki (2018), “Marriage and Childcare in the Metropolitan Areas: A Comparison of Sapporo City and the Greater Fukuoka Area,” in T. Hatta (ed.), Economic Challenges Facing Japan’s Regional Areas, Plagrave Macmillan, pp. 137–143.
Suzuki, Wataru (2018), “Childcare and Measures Targeting Japan’s Low Birth Rate: What Effect Can the Decentralization of Authority Have on the Birth Rate?” in T. Hatta (ed.), Economic Challenges Facing Japan’s Regional Areas, Plagrave Macmillan, pp. 145–154.
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Hatta, T. (2018). Measures to Address Japan’s Low Birth Rate. In: Hatta, T. (eds) Economic Challenges Facing Japan’s Regional Areas. Palgrave Pivot, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7110-2_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7110-2_14
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