Japan Pays You ¥3 Million ($20K) to Move — Here Is How to Qualify

The Japanese government will pay families up to ¥3,000,000 (roughly $20,000 USD) to leave Tokyo and move to the countryside. This is not a rumour, not clickbait, and not a programme that expired in 2019. It is an active, funded national initiative that has been expanding every year since its launch — and for property buyers already eyeing cheap rural houses, the maths gets very interesting very quickly.

The National Relocation Subsidy (移住支援金 (ijū shienkin))

Japan's Cabinet Office runs a programme called the Regional Revitalization Migration Support Grant (地方創生移住支援事業 (chihō sōsei ijū shien jigyō)). The core offer: up to ¥1,000,000 per individual or ¥3,000,000 per household (¥1,000,000 base plus ¥1,000,000 per child under 18 (note: the supplement applies to children under 18 only, not adult family members — a couple with no children receives the ¥1,000,000 base grant only)) for people who relocate from the Greater Tokyo Area to designated municipalities in rural prefectures.

The programme exists because Japan has a problem that money alone cannot solve. Over 38% of the population lives in the three major metro areas (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya), while rural municipalities are literally disappearing. The Ministry of Internal Affairs projects that nearly half of Japan's 1,700+ municipalities could become "functionally extinct" by 2040. The subsidy is the carrot. The stick is demographic reality.

Who Qualifies

The eligibility requirements are specific. Applicants must meet all of the following:

• Residency history: Must have lived in the Tokyo 23 wards, or commuted to the 23 wards from the surrounding Greater Tokyo Area (parts of Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, and certain Tokyo municipalities), for at least 5 consecutive years within the 10 years prior to moving. Recent rule changes have loosened this slightly — university students who commuted to Tokyo for studies can count those years.
• Employment condition: Must either (a) continue working for a Tokyo-based employer via telework, (b) find employment through the prefecture's designated job-matching portal, (c) start a business in the destination area (which unlocks a separate ¥2,000,000 entrepreneurship grant), or (d) transfer to a local branch of a current employer.
• Commitment: Must establish residency in the designated municipality and live there for at least 5 years. Leave early, and the subsidy must be returned — in full.
• Timing: Must apply within 3 months of moving (some municipalities allow up to 1 year — check locally).

The programme covers all 46 prefectures outside Tokyo (plus some Tokyo municipalities like Okutama and the Tama region islands), but not every municipality within those prefectures participates. Each prefecture publishes a list of participating towns. As of 2025, over 1,300 municipalities are enrolled.

Municipalities With the Most Generous Packages

The national grant is only the starting point. Many municipalities stack their own incentives on top, creating packages that can total ¥5,000,000–¥10,000,000+ for a family willing to commit. Here are some standout examples:

These numbers change annually. Municipal budgets are finite, and popular programmes sometimes fill their quotas within months of the fiscal year starting (April 1). Checking directly with the target municipality's 移住支援 (ijuu shien) office is essential — and yes, this typically requires Japanese.

Stacking Subsidies: Relocation + Akiya Purchase + Renovation

This is where the programme gets genuinely compelling for foreign property buyers. The national relocation subsidy is designed to work alongside — not replace — local housing incentives. A realistic scenario:

• Buy an akiya through a municipal akiya bank for ¥500,000–¥3,000,000
• Receive the national relocation grant: ¥3,000,000 (family of 3)
• Receive a municipal renovation subsidy: ¥1,000,000–¥5,000,000 (covers up to 50% of renovation costs in many programmes)
• Receive child-rearing bonuses: ¥100,000–¥500,000 per child (common in depopulated areas)

In a best-case scenario, a family could acquire and renovate a countryside house for a net cost approaching zero — or even come out ahead. That is not typical, but it is arithmetically possible in the most aggressive municipalities.

A more realistic expectation: the subsidies cover the purchase price and 30–50% of renovation costs, bringing total out-of-pocket spending to ¥3,000,000–¥8,000,000 (roughly $20,000–$55,000 USD) for a habitable rural home. By any international standard, that remains extraordinary value.

Renovation Subsidies Worth Knowing

Most prefectures run their own renovation grant programmes (リフォーム補助金) independent of the relocation subsidy. Common structures:

• Standard renovation grants: 50% of costs up to ¥1,000,000–¥2,000,000. Available to anyone who buys and occupies a vacant property.
• Seismic retrofit subsidies: Covers earthquake reinforcement for pre-1981 buildings. Typically ¥1,000,000–¥3,000,000. Nearly universal across Japan and often uncapped for qualifying work.
• Energy efficiency upgrades: National and prefectural grants for insulation, solar panels, and heat pumps. ¥500,000–¥2,000,000 depending on scope.
• Akiya bank renovation specials: Some municipalities offer enhanced grants exclusively for properties purchased through their akiya bank. These can reach ¥5,000,000 in depopulated areas.

These programmes are not mutually exclusive. A single renovation project can potentially claim seismic, energy, and general renovation subsidies simultaneously — though the paperwork required to do so is, predictably, formidable.

What About Foreigners?

Nothing in the national programme's eligibility criteria restricts participation by nationality. The requirements are about where applicants have lived and worked, not citizenship. A foreign national who has lived and commuted in the Greater Tokyo Area for 5+ years and holds an appropriate visa (work visa, spouse visa, permanent residency) qualifies on the same terms as a Japanese citizen.

The practical barriers are different from the legal ones:

• Language: Applications, supporting documents, and most municipal correspondence are in Japanese. Some larger prefectures (Hokkaido, Nagano) have English-language migration support offices, but these are the exception.
• Visa implications: Relocating from Tokyo to a rural area does not inherently affect visa status, but changing employers or starting a business may require a visa status change. The Teritoru team can advise on how property purchases and relocations interact with immigration requirements — though their consultations are a paid service.
• Banking: Renovation loans and mortgage products are harder to access for non-permanent residents. The subsidies help offset this by reducing the amount that needs financing.

The Remote Work Expansion

The programme received a significant boost during and after COVID. In 2021, the government added telework as a qualifying employment condition — meaning applicants no longer need to quit their Tokyo job or find local employment. They can keep their Tokyo salary and work remotely from a rural town.

This single change transformed the programme's appeal. Before 2021, applicants had to either find work through prefectural job portals (which list mostly healthcare, agriculture, and municipal positions) or start a business. Now, a software developer earning ¥8,000,000/year in Tokyo can keep that income, move to a town where houses cost less than a Tokyo parking space, and pocket ¥3,000,000 in subsidies for doing so.

The catch: the employer must agree to allow full-time remote work from the new location, and the arrangement must be documented. "Working from home sometimes" does not qualify — the relocation must be the primary work location.

The Entrepreneur Route

For those willing to start a business in a rural area, a separate entrepreneurship support grant (起業支援金) of up to ¥2,000,000 is available. This stacks with the relocation subsidy, creating a combined package of up to ¥5,000,000 for a family that both relocates and starts a local business.

Qualifying business categories include tourism, agriculture, IT services, and community services. The business must address a "regional challenge" — which, in practice, covers almost anything a depopulated town needs (a cafe, a guesthouse, an IT consultancy, a farming operation).

Realistic Caveats

Before booking moving trucks:

• The 5-year residency requirement works both ways. Applicants must have 5 years in Tokyo and commit to 5 years in the destination. Leaving the municipality within 5 years triggers full repayment of the grant — no proration, no exceptions.
• Budget caps are real. Each municipality has an annual allocation. Popular destinations (Nagano, parts of Hokkaido) can exhaust their budgets by summer. Apply early in the fiscal year (April–June).
• The subsidy is taxable income. ¥3,000,000 received as a relocation grant is subject to income tax and resident tax. After taxes, the effective value is closer to ¥2,200,000–¥2,500,000 depending on income bracket.
• Not all properties qualify for renovation subsidies. Some programmes require the property to be registered in the municipal akiya bank. Others require the renovation contractor to be a local business. Conditions vary by municipality.
• "Designated municipalities" is not "anywhere rural." Each prefecture publishes specific lists of participating towns. A beautiful mountain village 3 hours from Tokyo might not be on the list. Always verify before committing.
• Paperwork is entirely in Japanese. Applications require certificates of residence (住民票 (jūminhyō)), tax payment records (納税証明書), employment verification, and business plans (for the entrepreneur grant). Professional translation or a bilingual advisor is not optional for non-Japanese speakers.

How to Get Started

For foreign buyers considering this route, a practical sequence:

1. Confirm eligibility. Do those 5 years in Greater Tokyo hold up? Is the visa status compatible? These are non-negotiable prerequisites.
2. Choose a target area. Browse properties on Akiya Japan filtered by akiya bank listings in qualifying prefectures. Hokkaido, Nagano, Niigata, and the Shikoku prefectures (Tokushima, Kochi, Ehime, Kagawa) tend to have the strongest combined incentive packages.
3. Contact the municipality directly. Every participating town has an 移住相談窓口 (migration consultation desk). Many now offer online consultations.
4. Engage a property agent. For the property purchase itself, working with an agent experienced in rural transactions and foreign buyers saves time and prevents costly mistakes. Teritoru specialises in exactly this kind of transaction — they are Akiya Japan's recommended partner agent.
5. Apply for subsidies before or immediately after moving. Timing windows are strict. Some grants require pre-approval before the move; others allow applications up to 3 months after establishing residency. Get the sequence wrong and the money disappears.

The Bottom Line

Japan's countryside relocation subsidies are real, substantial, and expanding. For anyone already considering a rural property purchase — particularly those currently based in Greater Tokyo — the financial incentives can reduce the effective cost of buying and renovating a countryside home to a fraction of what the headline price suggests.

The programme is not designed to be easy. It rewards commitment, punishes early departure, and requires genuine engagement with both municipal bureaucracy and rural community life. But for buyers who were already looking at rural Japan and meet the residency requirements, it represents one of the more straightforward ways a government has ever said: here is money, please come live here.

Whether ¥3,000,000 is enough to offset the reality of rural Japanese winters, limited public transport, and the nearest convenience store being a 20-minute drive is a personal calculation. The government is betting that for enough people, it will be.