A plan by the Japanese government to inciting single women from the city to marry men from the countryside, offering them moneywas abandoned in the face of criticism.
Authorities were considering offering up to $4,140 [600.000 yenes] to women for marrying and settling outside of Tokyo, as part of a policy to revitalize rural areasJapanese media reported on Friday.
But Hanako Jimi, regional revitalization minister, said she had asked authorities to “re-examine” the project.
The government’s plan was revealed this week by the media, prompting an avalanche of criticism on social media.
“Did you really think that independent, motivated, educated women in the city would say, ‘What? If I marry a local man and move to the countryside, I’ll have 600,000 yen! I’m going for it!’?” wrote one netizen on social media site X. “Are you serious?” he added.
“Still don’t get it? This idea comes from people who only value women if they give birth,” another user posted.
Japan has the second oldest population in the world, behind Monaco.
The ageing population raises many questions in the world’s fourth-largest economy, including how to address labour shortages in several sectors.
In 2023, the number of births in Japan fell for the eighth consecutive year, and the decline was severe (-5.1% year-on-year), while the number of deaths doubled the number of births.
A study published in April indicated that more than 40% of Japanese municipalities were at risk of “disappearing” in the long term due to the projected decline in the number of women aged 20 to 30.
Source: Ambito

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