What is Kankei-jinkou?

Kankei-jinkou, meaning related population or relationship population, is a term that refers to a group of people who are interested in and engaged in the rural communities. However, they are not long-term residents nor temporary visitors like tourists. This term is commonly used when talking about regional revitalization. There are two groups other than kankei-jinkou; kouryu-jinkou, meaning temporary visitors, and teiju-jinkou, meaning residents. The Japanese government believes kankei-jinkou is the key to solving depopulation in rural areas because they believe that people belonging to this group bring new ideas and changes to these communities.

Projects to increase the number of Kankei-jinkou

The government and some NPOs run projects to increase the number of kankei-jinkou in various ways. In these projects, you get paid for becoming a resident of a particular region for a couple of years and for contributing to regional revitalization. To give a clear example, “the Local Vitalization Corporator” is a project subsidized by the government, in which the members get paid around JPY 150,000 per month and are expected to engage in regional cooperation activities, such as developing and promoting local products, engaging in agricultural activities, and supporting the livelihood of the locals.

Furusato-nouzei, meaning hometown tax donation, is also a policy to increase kankei-jinkou. This system allows taxpayers to donate to any local governments of their choice in exchange for reducing their resident tax and receiving local products in return. This is one of the easiest ways to engage in the rural communities by choosing the local municipalities to donate to without visiting or moving in.

Difficulties of kankei-jinkou

While kankei-jinkou is a brilliant idea for local vitalization, there are some difficulties to overcome. Firstly, it is hard to measure the population as KPI since there are various ways to engage with the local community, as mentioned before. Kankei-jinkou has not been defined well yet, therefore, the measuring method depends on the communities. Secondly, it is difficult for the communities with low-profile to win the competition for human resources. Lastly, a framework to continuously connect urban residents and rural communities has not been established. It seems the communities need to accelerate digitalization to obtain new human resources and to stay connected with them.

Kankei-jinkou enriches livelihood

Kankei-jinkou aims to enrich livelihood no matter where they live though there are numerous issues it has yet to solve. Many people have started working from home since the COVID-19 outbreak and have also realized that they no longer have to live near the office. Kankei-jinkou not only allows these people to have more than two living bases but also helps with the vitalization of rural areas. It must not be forgotten that there are many communities waiting to be discovered.