TOKYO – The net influx of people into Tokyo slowed in 2025 for the first time in four years amid surging rents across the city center, while the Japanese capital remained as a hub for educational and employment opportunities, government data showed Tuesday.
People moving into Tokyo outnumbered those leaving by 65,219 last year, a decrease of 14,066 from the previous year and marking the first decline since 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic.
The number of people moving into the capital dropped 9,611 from 2024 to 451,843, while those leaving increased 4,455 to 386,624, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
The net influx of people also slowed in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic but had been accelerating since 2022, when travel restrictions were eased.
Of the country’s 47 prefectures, 40 saw more people moving out than moving in. The net influx into the broader metropolitan area covering Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures stood at 123,534, down 12,309 from a year earlier.
The next influx of people into the Osaka area, which covers Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo and Nara prefectures, climbed 6,063 to 8,742.
Regarding overall migration, a total of 782,165 people settled in Japan, while 409,592 left.
The central government had set fiscal 2027 as a target for balancing the population flow between the Tokyo metropolitan area and rural areas as part of regional revitalization, but it decided in December not to set a deadline after the goal proved difficult.
AloJapan.com