An average tourist to Tokyo would find it difficult to believe the country’s population is shrinking after seeing the bustling crowds on the roads of Japan’s capital city. The tourist would not figure out that an increasing proportion of the country’s population is concentrated in the city and that Tokyo is not the mirror for the whole country. The government probably did not anticipate the public backlash that the gender-locking grant to women could give rise to, as it was perceived that offering money only to women was an indirect way of pushing women out of the capital.

The plan probably assumed that those women choosing to move to rural areas by availing a government incentive would be content with a rural life and stay away from pursuing educational and professional activities. The idea was that Tokyo’s women were needed to repopulate and help out the local economy that is heavily skewed towards male-dominated industries such as agriculture and manufacturing.

This was absolutely a flawed decision that was bound to fail. Following backlash to this outlandish proposal that drew scorn on social media, Hanako Jimi, minister of state for regional revitalisation, ordered a review of the plan before finally scrapping it. Independent, motivated and educated women were aghast and laughed off the proposal. Some others questioned if women would be considered valuable only if they gave birth. Even an adviser to Prime Minister Kishida called out the plan, saying it did not address the root cause of the problem.

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As less and less babies are born, day care centres are closing down, and the diaper........

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