This is another bold move...!
Amazing town with "free houses" and "7.02 million yen in childcare support
Brief summary
- If the residents continue to live in the house for at least 15 years, the house with land will be given away free of charge.
- Eligible applicants are married couples under the age of 40 or households with children under the age of 50 and under junior high school age.
- Up to 2 million in renovation costs are subsidized, and after 15 years of residence, the land and building are given away along with a 500,000 yen settlement gift.
I don't know what kind of property we will get, but the commute from Okutama-cho to Tokyo is a little over 2 hours. It would probably be easier if the commute was to the Tachikawa area, but if it was to Toyosu or somewhere else, it would be a lot of work.
But it seems that there were quite a few applications. Here is what Kazutaka Niijima, head of the Youth Settlement Office, had to say.
We received tentative applications from 37 families, and after a briefing session at the site, 19 families made full applications. We received applications from 37 families on a provisional basis, and after a briefing session at the site, 19 families made a final application.
The company also prides itself on having one of the best childcare support policies among local governments.
In addition to the appeal of free of charge, the applicants were unanimous in their praise of the town's unique childcare support, which Manager Niijima proudly states is "the best in Japan. There are no children on waiting lists for preschools, and childcare and medical expenses are fully subsidized starting with the first child.
It could also be used effectively as a measure against vacant houses. Although the property will be selected and negotiations with the owner will be difficult, we believe that this is an administrative measure that should be closely monitored to see how well this scheme works.
Currently, there are 450 vacant houses in Okutama. For the time being, 20% of these houses will be used for housing to support the settlement of young people. There is a high possibility that more bargain properties will come up in the future, so those interested should keep an eye on the market.
