The higher rates of coronavirus infection and continuing State of Emergency in the nation’s capital are said to be behind the exit of residents.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Japanese government was about ready to bribe people to move out of Tokyo. It seems like they can toss that plan aside, however, since Tokyo Prefecture has now seen a drop in population for seven consecutive months.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications revealed on February 25 that the number of people who moved out of Tokyo (25,483) in January 2021 exceeded those who moved in (23,993) by 1,490 people (including foreign residents), according to the month’s population migration report. While that number is fewer than December’s differential of 4,648, the overall decreasing trend has continued since July 2020.

▼ Now might be a good time to finally rent your dream studio apartment in Tokyo while others are moving out.

Compared to the numbers from January 2020’s population migration report (near the start of the pandemic), the number of people who have moved out of Tokyo is up by 5.7 percent and the number of people who have moved in is down by 12.4 percent. That same month saw the number of people who moved in exceeding the number of those who moved out by 3,286 people. The reversal in trend over the past seven months is most likely attributed to higher overall rates of COVID-19 infection and the renewed State of Emergency in Tokyo on January 7 of this year.

Interestingly, last summer it was also reported that the population of foreigners in Tokyo was increasing at a significantly faster rate than that of Japanese people. It will be interesting to see how the demographics of Japan’s capital continue to change once COVID-19 is under control.

Source: Kyodo via My Game News Flash 
Top image: Pakutaso
Featured image: Pakutaso
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