Record 8,196 in Japan Serve as “Community Reactivators”

Tokyo, April 24 (Jiji Press)–The number of so-called community reactivators, or people working to revitalize nonurban areas in Japan after moving from urban areas under a government-subsidized program, totaled a record 8,196 in fiscal 2025, the internal affairs ministry said Friday. The figure rose by 286 from the previous year. The number of local governments that accept members of the “community-reactivating cooperator squad” increased by 11 to 1,187, also hitting a record high. Those in their 20s or 30s accounted for over 60 pct of local revitalization cooperators, followed by those in their 40s, at 20 pct, and those in their 50s, at 10 pct. Of the total, 60 pct were men and 40 pct were women. Among the country’s 47 prefectures, Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, had the largest number of cooperators, at 1,374. According to a survey on the settlement status of 8,762 people who completed their terms as community reactivators between fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2024, 6,163, or about 70 pct, continued to live in the areas where they had served. The government aims to increase the number of community reactivators to 10,000 by the end of March 2027. The ministry plans to provide additional support to reactivators and local governments that accept them to achieve the target. The ministry also said that a record 1,215 workers served under a separate program in fiscal 2025 in which companies dispatch their employees to local governments to help regional revitalization. The figure exceeded 1,000 for the first time. Of the total, 904 people worked for more than half a month in the dispatch areas and 299 people worked for shorter periods. Twelve people were retired company employees. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]