Shizuoka tops relocation destination ranking for 3rd straight year

Shizuoka Prefecture is the most sought-after destination among people in Japan looking to relocate to more rural areas of the country, according to a recent ranking.

Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan topped an annual “migration ranking” for 2022, ahead of Nagano Prefecture in second and Tochigi Prefecture in third. It was the third successive year for Shizuoka to rank as the most sought-after relocation destination in Japan.  

The ranking was compiled and published by the Furusato Kaiki Support Center (ふるさと回帰支援センターと), a non-profit organization which works in cooperation with local governments across Japan to support relocations to rural areas of the country or returns to people’s hometown regions.

Data behind the ranking was collected by questionnaire, targeting people who approached the center to seek consultation about relocating.   

Shizuoka was found to be the most popular destination across all age groups - people in their 20s to 70s. The prefecture held a number of in-person and online relocation fairs and seminars in cooperation with municipalities and other organizations, as well as consultation sessions with Furusato Kaiki Support Center counselors and local government officials, which led to an overall increase in consultations about moves to the area, according to the support center. 

While Shizuoka maintained its hold as the number one relocation destination in Japan other significant gains in ranking were made by Tochigi Prefecture (from ninth in 2021 to third in 2022), Wakayama Prefecture (12th to eighth), Hokkaido (16th to 12th) and Kumamoto Prefecture (18th to 14th). 

Chiba (16th), Ibaraki (18th), Hyogo (18th), and Shiga (20th) prefectures broke into the top 20 destinations in the latest ranking.

Consultations regarding relocation handled by the Furusato Kaiki Support Center increased 5.7 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, reaching 52,312, a record for the center.

“With the wave of rural relocation continuing in 2022 on the back of the coronavirus, those prefectures which strengthened their consultation services and kept an eye on the trends of prospective movers from the Tokyo area were able to see an increase in the number of consultations,” said Hiroshi Takahashi, chairman of the Furusato Kaiki Support Center, in a statement.

Data behind the latest ranking showed a trend toward an increasing number of consultations with people who are very serious about wanting to relocate and who already have a clear idea of their desired destination, according to Takahashi.

According to the data, the number of questionnaire respondents wishing to move to "regional cities" increased from 64.9 percent in 2021 to 73.6 percent in 2022. Those wishing to move to “rural areas” increased from 19.9 percent to 23.8 percent. Respondents who were undecided about the type of destination decreased from 11.4 percent in 2021 to 3.8 percent in 2022.        

Around 70 percent of all the people who sought consultations were in their 40s or younger. 

In a separate ranking compiled by the center, based on questionnaires carried out among participants of relocation seminars, Hiroshima Prefecture was found to be the most sought-after destination in Japan for the second year in a row.  

The western Japan prefecture was able to attract a large number of participants to relocation seminars due to having prefectural government officials personally plan and conduct 30 seminars per year that met the needs of prospective immigrants, among other factors, according to the center.

From April, the Japanese government is set to increase financial support for families relocating outside of the Tokyo metropolitan area, offering up to one million yen per child, up from the current 300,00 yen, as it attempts to tackle the concentration of the population in and around the Japanese capital.

Going in the other direction, however, the number of people moving into Tokyo outnumbered those leaving in 2022. 439,787 people moved to the Japanese capital compared to 401,764 who left, according to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

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