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According to Locals: Weird Reasons Why Tokyo Is Irresistable

Last updated: 29 January 2021

In Japan, the trend of people moving from the countryside to large cities is as strong as ever. Especially difficult is the overconcentration in Tokyo, meaning that both people and money accumulates in Tokyo like nowhere else.

The government is promoting regional revitalization across the country to combat this phenomenon, but there are no figures to show any results yet. According to a publication by the Cabinet Secretariat’s “Machi, Hito, Shigoto” revitalization bureau, the Tokyo Metropolitan Area has experienced excessive immigration since 1996 in an unbroken trend.

There are various reasons why people move to Tokyo from the countryside: “We moved to Tokyo after getting married” or “I was transferred to Tokyo.” However, these alone cannot be the only factors in the phenomenon of overconcentration in Tokyo.

Many places across Japan offer an easier life than in Tokyo, so why are people drawn to the capital in such numbers? Is there some sort of special charm? We’re exploring the reasons for this trend, seen from the view of Japanese people from the countryside.

Since 1996, has started to become overrun by new residents. According to a 2017 report about population movement by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, there are seven urban areas that experienced an excessive influx of people: Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, Fukuoka, Aichi, and Osaka.

On the other hand, every other city in the country is dealing with an excessive emigration trend. The most popular destination areas are Tokyo (75,498 people), Chiba (16,203 people), and Saitama (14,923 people) – Tokyo stands out with sky-high numbers. Likewise, Fukushima (8,395 people), Hyogo (6,657 people), Hokkaido (6,569 people), Niigata (6,566 people), and Aomori (6,075 people) have to deal with residents leaving the prefecture.

Looking at these figures, it becomes more than clear why the current phenomenon is described as “overconcentration in Tokyo.”

Furthermore, the data of the “8th Population Movement Survey (October 12, 2017)” by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research shows that 20% of people moving from one prefecture to another are doing a so-called U-turn, meaning they first leave their home prefecture and return to it later in life again.

Particularly noteworthy is that the percentage of such U-turners are young people between 15 and 29 was 14.5% in 2006, 14.4% in 2011, and 11.8% in 2016, showing a steady decline. This is best explained with an example: of the people who move from a rural area to Tokyo to go to college, 90% of them stay in Tokyo, not returning to the prefecture they are originally from.

What are the reasons for young people moving away from their home and continuing their life elsewhere? By unraveling these reasons, it may be possible to find one aspect of “overconcentration in Tokyo.”

Tokyo, Town of Famous Universities

The report about the current situation of Tokyo’s overconcentration (2017) by the Cabinet Secretariat’s “Machi, Hito, Shigoto” revitalization bureau breaks down the Tokyo immigrants by age, and more than half of them are between 15 and 24 years old. This suggests that a lot of people come to Tokyo to attend college or look for employment. However, there are plenty of universities outside of Tokyo, so why study at the capital specifically?

“Going to an even slightly famous university in Tokyo makes job hunting easier than attending a little-known local college” is an often-quoted reason among young people moving to Tokyo.

With famous colleges such as Keio University, Waseda University, Sophia University, Rikkyo University, and Meiji University, it is undeniable that prestigious universities do concentrate in Tokyo, with the exception of a few famous colleges in rural areas.

On top of that, when looking for a university that matches your own academic standards, rural areas might not have a fitting college available. In that case, many people look to Tokyo and its abundance of diverse colleges.

According to the website “Knowledge Station” by the company Insight International, there are 780 colleges throughout Japan, combining national, public, and private. Out of them, 138 are in Tokyo. That means that the remaining 640 colleges are scattered in 46 prefectures, it is indeed evident that Tokyo is the college hotbed.

Companies throughout Japan are Looking for Employees – Why the Overconcentration in Tokyo?

Besides that, the regional differences in employment situation are a big reason for the overconcentration in Tokyo. The Japanese capital boasts an outstanding number of open jobs, so naturally, people go to Tokyo to find work, fueling the phenomenon.

However, this is actually not one of the major factors. According to data regarding effective opening‐to‐application ratio by prefecture (updated quarterly, as of July 2017) by the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training, Tokyo ratio is 2.09, Fukui’s ratio is 2.07, followed by Ishikawa with 1.87 and Aichi with 1.84.

It’s not like Tokyo is the only place with a great employment situation. That alone cannot be the explanation for the overconcentration in Tokyo, so there need to be other factors. It may be the charm of the land or an ease of living that people don’t know until they actually do live there.

“Bookstores in Tokyo have a selection that rural bookstores cannot compete with.” (man from Gunma, 25)
“Tokyo has so many museums and movie theaters.” (man from Miyazaki, 31)
“There are famous fashion brand stores in Tokyo.” (woman from Nagano, 28)

One of the big reasons that attract people from the countryside is the number of entertainment and shopping facilities in Tokyo. A lot of countrysiders come from in an area that does not have a cinema or museum, and many grew up without direct access to what interests them or what they care about. For those people, Tokyo and its diverse abundance of opportunities is fascinating and attractive.

On top of that, Tokyo offers a plethora of different types of shops and commercial facilities. Examples are record shops and bookstores, some of them specializing in new releases while others handle retro goods, collector’s items, and old classics that aren’t printed or produced anymore.

Scouring Tokyo for long enough, you are sure to find rare and highly sought-after goods that are impossible to get even on the internet. In short, Tokyo is the prime spot to explore your love, no matter what that love is.

Tokyo’s people are just as diverse, boasting every viewpoint or value imaginable. From “marrying and having a child by the age of 30” to “going to college and working for a famous company,” the roads to happiness are manifold in Tokyo.

That doesn’t only pretty much guarantee you to find someone who’s on the same page but it also allows you to broaden your horizon by getting to know people that are completely different from you.

The author of this article, born and bred in Gunma Prefecture, realized just how many choices one has during their life, for example. It’s a diversity of thoughts and values as it can never be experienced in the countryside – is that not one, if not the most prominent reason as to why people keep flocking to Tokyo?

The rent is high and there’s an insane amount of people – Tokyo is by no means an easy city to live in, compared to Japan’s countryside. Nonetheless, more and more people move to the city each year.

Tokyo is ever-evolving, changing from one day to the next, and is at the forefront of diverse change and progress in Japan towards a global society. People from all walks of life, with various viewpoints and diverse ideas, coexist in this giant city filled with education, culture, and entertainment.

Isn’t this unique and exciting atmosphere what sets Tokyo apart and makes it so irresistibly fascinating?

Written by Tomoya Nakazawa