Japan will offer families $7,500 per child to move out of Tokyo in an effort to ease overcrowding in the world's most-populated city, local media reported.

The program is scheduled to start in April and aims to revitalize fading towns and villages while reducing Tokyo's population of 35 million.

Japan's birth rate continues to slump, declining by an average of 2.5% a year since 2012 while the country's elderly population rises.

The $7,500 per child will be offered alongside the existing $22,500 in base financial support for the relocation of families living in 23 "core" areas of Tokyo including outlying prefectures of Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa.

Areas of relocation must be outside the metropolitan area. Mountainous areas surrounding Tokyo will also be eligible. About 1,300 municipalities have joined the program.

Families must agree to live for at least five years in their new regions. According to Nikkei Asia, the proposal also requires that one member of the household be employed in a small or midsize company in their area of relocation, continue working their current jobs remotely or plan to open a business in their new municipality.

Relocated residents who do not commit to the 5-year agreement will be asked to pay back the money they received from the government program.

The child support funding will be split between the central government and local municipalities. It will be offered to parents with children under 18 and for children who are 18 but in their final year of high school.

The new incentive is an increase from the original amount of $2,500 per child. The program began in 2019 and provided funds to 1,184 people in 2021, 290 in 2020, and 71 in 2019.

The Japanese government hopes to relocate 10,000 people by 2027.

Japan