Saijo City of Ehime ranked first nationally as the “Country-side for young people to live in” - rose from last year’s fifth place

Recently Mainichi Shimbun reported the following:

愛媛・西条市が「若者が住みたい田舎」全国1位に 前年5位からアップ

 毎日新聞 2020/01/21 08:52

　宝島社が発行する月刊誌「田舎暮らしの本」（2月号）の「2020年版　住みたい田舎ベストランキング」で、愛媛県西条市が人口10万人以上の「若者が住みたい田舎部門」で全国1位（前年5位）に選ばれた。

　調査は、同社が移住定住の推進に積極的に取り組む市町村を対象に移住支援策や子育て、自然環境などに関するアンケートを実施し、回答した629市町村の田舎暮らしの魅力を数値化。人口10万人以上の「大きなまち」と10万人未満の「小さなまち」に区分し、それぞれ「総合」「若者世代」「子育て世代」「シニア世代」の4部門のランキングと、全国12エリア別のランキングを発表している。

　西条市は「大きなまち」の区分で、総合でも7位（前年12位）にランクインし、子育て世代4位（同15位）、シニア世代4位（同13位）だった。エリア別（四国）では、前年に続いて全部門で1位だった。

　アンケートは230項目あり、同市移住推進課によると、若者世代に関しては、若者の単身移住者数や企業のサテライトオフィスの有無、若者に人気のあるスポーツ施設の有無などを問う項目があったという。

　2019年4月から10月末に同市に移住した10～30代の単身者は45人で、近年増加傾向にあるといい、同課は「起業を目指すなど若者が活動しやすい環境が整ってきた。西条の認知度はまだ低いが、ユーチューバーと連携した情報発信や無料の移住体験ツアーなどを通じて、都心から西条に移住する流れを作っていきたい」としている。【花澤葵】

Translation

In the 2020 edition of “Best Countryside to Live” carried in the monthly magazine “Country Living Book” (February issue) issued by Takarajimasha, Saijo City of Ehime Prefecture under the “Country Category for Young People” with a population of 100,000 or more, ranked No. 1 nationwide (No. 5 in the previous year).

This questionnaire survey targeted at municipalities that were actively engaging in the promotion of resettlement and immigration, including measures to support immigration, child care, and the natural environment, and to quantify the attractiveness of rural living in 629 cities, towns and villages that had responded. It divided municipalities into "large towns" with a population of 100,000 or more, and "small towns" with less than 100,000 people. It announced the rankings for the four categories of “general”, “youth generation”, “child care generation” and “senior generation”; and the ranking of 12 areas nationwide.

Saijo City was ranked 7th overall (12th in the previous year) in the category of "big towns", ranked 4th in the child-rearing generation (15th in the previous year) and 4th in the senior generation (13th in the previous year). By area (Shikoku), it ranked first in all categories, same as the previous year.

The questionnaire had 230 items. In accordance with the city's Immigration Promotion Division and targeting at the young generation, questions asked about such as the number of young people living alone, the presence of satellite offices of companies, and the availability of sports facilities that were popular among the young people.

From April 2019 to the end of October 2019 there were 45 unmarried people in their 10s to 30s moved to the city, and was said to be on the increase in recent years. The same division supposed that “Although Saijo's level of familiarity is still low, through information dissemination in cooperation with YouTubers and free migration experience tours, it would like to create a flow of migration from central Tokyo to Saijo. " [Aoi Hanazawa]

       It is surprising to know that Saijo City is a popular place among the young people to start a new life.