Japan scraps idea of cash, free train rides for city women to marry men in rural areas
Bureaucrats had envisioned payments of up to 600,000 yen (US$4,140) for women who got married and settled outside Tokyo
A widely ridiculed Japanese government idea to woo Tokyo women into marrying men in rural areas by offering cash payouts and train tickets to matchmaking events has been scrapped, officials said Friday.
Bureaucrats had envisioned payments of up to 600,000 yen (US$4,140) for women who got married and settled outside Tokyo as part of efforts to reduce a yawning countryside gender gap, local media reported.
Hanako Jimi, minister of state for regional revitalisation, said on Friday she had instructed officials to “review” the plan, and insisted that reports about the size of payments were “not true”.
Media leaks about the scheme this week drew scorn on social media, where critics saw it as typical in a country where men dominate politics and other areas, more than in any other major industrialised economy.
“Did they think independent, motivated and educated women in the city would think, ‘What? If I marry a local man and move to a countryside, I’ll get 600,000 yen! I’ll do it!’? … Are they serious?” one user said on X.