Creating a flow that allows urban residents to move to rural areas more easily than before, and to move actively between urban and rural areas, will create new intermediate zones. The key is to provide limited and proactive support to areas experiencing increased influx from urban areas. (Kei Kitajima)

What needs to be done to create new intermediate zones in rural areas? Here, a new intermediate zone refers to a community or place that balances values ​​that prioritize rationality above all else with values ​​that do not prioritize rationality as absolute.

One approach is to create a flow that allows urban residents to move to rural areas more easily than before, and to move actively between urban and rural areas, through deregulation and other measures. Of course, the outflow from rural areas to cities will also accelerate. On the other hand, some areas will likely see an increase in inflow. In those cases, we will provide limited and proactive support to areas experiencing strong inflow.

The COVID-19 pandemic was devastating, restricting freedom of movement, but a secondary effect was the advancement of work styles utilizing DX, such as teleworking.

The fact that it was proven that work can be performed from anywhere as if in the office, by effectively using DX, was a blessing in disguise. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has ended and freedom of movement has returned, teleworking is declining. However, it is important to keep the flame of teleworking alive and steadily promote it to increase the number of people who wish to relocate to rural areas.

During work hours, one should dedicate oneself to values ​​that prioritize rationality above all else, and after work, one should enjoy values ​​that do not prioritize rationality, such as human connections. If more people seek this kind of lifestyle, a new intermediate zone will naturally form.

Some regions will also begin to design lifestyles that are conscious of this new intermediate zone. If some of these regions succeed and attract migrants, they will become model cases for intermediate zones, and if these model cases are horizontally deployed, intermediate zones will be scattered throughout the country.

Another approach is for the government to take the lead, designate special zones, and create new intermediate zones. However, this approach is unlikely to last. It will function to some extent while subsidies are being provided, but once the subsidies run out, it will not be able to operate independently and will falter. While it’s meaningful in showing people what a new intermediate zone might be, it’s unlikely to amount to anything more. Sustainable intermediate zones are fostered when people actively decide to relocate, even partly by chance, and live in a way that suits them.

If we can create new intermediate zones within Japan, we can at least avoid falling into an extreme society. People’s choices and diversity will also be somewhat guaranteed.

Those who want to live in a metropolis steeped in rationality and optimization can live in metropolises. Those who accept minimal optimization and value things that cannot be reduced to rationality can live in areas called intermediate zones. Those seeking a wilder lifestyle unrelated to rationality can live in such places.

Another key point here is freedom of movement. Here, freedom of movement doesn’t mean having a well-developed transportation network that makes it easy to reach destinations, but rather the freedom to move anywhere, anytime, regardless of age or gender.

Humans are fickle creatures; their thinking changes over time. While urban areas may be appealing in youth, as people age, they may find rural areas more attractive. Conversely, while a wilder lifestyle may be enjoyable in youth, one may long for urban life as they age. If freedom of movement is ensured to flexibly accommodate these changes, movement between cities and rural areas will become more active, leading to regional revitalization. We may even see the emergence of migratory birds constantly moving between cities and rural areas.

Even if Japan’s population were to halve, if half of it were dispersed to rural areas, and frequent movement between urban and rural areas became commonplace, the balance of the country’s landmass would be maintained to some extent. Maintaining this balance would leave room for development and make it easier to envision a diverse future. In particular, if the proportion of people who recognize values ​​that do not consider rationality as absolute increases, the trend of population decline will likely stop, and the population will be more likely to maintain or even increase.

Marriage, childbirth, and child-rearing are values ​​that cannot be grasped solely through rationality. If rationality, efficiency, and optimization are thoroughly pursued, marriage, childbirth, and child-rearing can even be considered values ​​that fall outside of one’s perspective. If a country becomes an extreme society, consisting only of metropolitan areas that pursue rationality and optimization to the extreme, the declining birthrate will worsen, leading to an irreversible situation. In that sense, an extreme society must be avoided, and we must continue to think of ways to prevent it from happening.

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