As depopulation progresses in rural Japan, the preservation of local communities is at risk. Ahead of the Oct. 27 House of Representatives race, each political party has pledged to focus on regional areas in their election speeches. They should analyze the factors behind the continued concentration of people and resources in the greater Tokyo area and compete on more concrete and in-depth solutions.

Since 2014, the Japanese government has been tackling the issue of depopulation as part of its "regional revitalization" policy. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba established a task force within the government to strengthen these efforts. His administration aims to double the approximately 100-billion-yen (about $667 million) in subsidies that support local government policy measures in next fiscal year's budget, and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has included this in its campaign promises.

Regional revitalization is a policy aimed at boosting local economies by spreading local governments' successful examples, such as efforts to discover tourism demand. The goal is to balance the population inflow and outflow between the Tokyo metropolitan area and rural areas on an annual basis.

However, the population influx into greater Tokyo has accelerated, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that the overall results from the policy have been poor. Ishiba, who was the inaugural minister for the regional revitalization policy, bears some responsibility. Doubling the subsidies without thorough evaluation raises doubts about its effectiveness.

One of the reasons behind the unstoppable concentration in the Tokyo region is the continued outflow of young women from rural areas.

There is a need to draw up bold visions, such as promoting corporate relocation, boosting the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries, as well as transitioning nonregular local government employees and other workers to regular, permanent positions in order to secure employment for women. A gender equality perspective is also essential.

The LDP's pledges include the phrase "a diversified country-building," but lacks the term "correcting Tokyo-centered concentration."

Last year, Tokyo's population increased by 70,000, mainly due to an influx of people from outside the capital and newly arrived foreigners. Due to the effects of Japan's aging population and declining birth rates, the natural population increase, or births minus deaths, dropped by 50,000.

Tokyo's total fertility rate is 0.99, the lowest in the nation. If this situation continues and people keep migrating from rural areas, it will accelerate Japan's overall population decline. Correcting the over-concentration in greater Tokyo is crucial not only from the perspective of population balance but also from disaster prevention and crisis management. It should be more clearly emphasized.

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's pledge also falls short in outlining a future vision for rural areas. It lacks the energy its predecessor Democratic Party of Japan once had when it focused on "regional sovereignty."

The major trend of population decline will not change. Preparations, such as compacting residential areas and selecting which aging infrastructure to maintain, must also proceed. The Noto Peninsula earthquake in January highlighted the vulnerability of depopulated communities. Both the ruling and opposition parties need to deepen their discussions on the sustainability of local regions.