Japan to Create 10,000 Jobs Thru Biz Relocations from Tokyo

Jiji Press

12:55 JST, June 13, 2025

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japan on Friday set a target of creating 10,000 jobs in areas other than Tokyo over the three years through fiscal 2027 by promoting relocations of business head office functions from the capital.

The target is included in a 10-year basic concept to implement Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s signature Regional Revitalization 2.0 policy, adopted by a government task force.

The government aims to ease the overconcentration of businesses in Tokyo to address escalating labor shortages in the countryside, ensure nationwide economic growth and realize a sustainable society.

The basic concept stipulates the promotion of relocations and enhancement of head office functions to create new flows of people from Tokyo and increase jobs in provincial areas.

The central government will ask local governments to use a tax incentive program to facilitate business relocations and will consider revising the program by analyzing how it is used.

Over relocations of central government agencies from Tokyo, the state will present typical examples, such as relocation by department, to ask for suggestions from local governments.

The central government also plans to promote people-to-people exchanges between urban and rural areas by utilizing what it calls “connected populations,” or people who steadily interact with regional areas where they are not registered as residents.

It will establish a registration system for such populations, aiming to boost the number to 10 million people and achieve a total of 100 million registrations by allowing such people to choose multiple municipalities.

The central government will devise specific measures to develop the basic concept into a comprehensive strategy by year-end, while local governments will be asked to revise their own strategies.

It will promote private-sector efforts to increase company towns, or municipalities deeply connected with specific companies, across the country.

To discuss regulatory reform and support measures, the central government will set up a council headed by the prime minister.