On raising children in Japanese countryside

People living in Japanese urban area sometimes say that “I'm thinking of moving to somewhere countryside because it's a good environment for raising children."

According to my experience, it is true that raising children in a rural area in Japan can be a pleasant experience.

Using a rural area with a population of about 50,000 as a model, let’ think about raising children in Japanese rural area.

Before think about urban-rural environmental difference, we have to consider some background of child-raising situation of Japan.

Whether or not child-rearing is "easy" is not a matter of location (rural or urban), but depends largely on whether it is easy to get support from both parents.

The biggest factor that makes raising children in the countryside "easy" is living with or near your parents in Japanese modern society.

Even if you live in Japanese countryside, if you have a nuclear family and both parents work, you will need to put in as much effort and time to raise your children as you would in Japanese urban area.

For example, my family is a nuclear family living in the countryside and both parents live in the same prefecture, but they are not close enough to come and go on a daily basis.

In such an environment, we would rather raise our children in the city.

One of the main reasons for this is that in the Japanese countryside, even today, there are still strong vestiges of the child-rearing systems and customs of "three generations living together" and "families with a full-time housewife," which were the majority before the 1980s in Japan.

For example, at the nursery schools in my area, there are many families where mothers and grandmothers come to pick up their children at 4:00 p.m. although most of employed full time worker finish their work around 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Also, when I say "I have to take care of my children in the evening..." at work, I am often met with the response, "Huh? Grandma and grandpa don't help?".

Although not a major social disadvantage, the difficulty of raising children in a nuclear family (in terms of the physical time and manpower required) is often not understood in various situations, and this can be felt as a weight on the way things are done.

In terms of public support systems, the environment for raising children in the countryside is not necessarily superior compared with urban areas.

For example, in cases where there are no significant support measures or policies unique to the local government, Tokyo and other cities have an advantage in terms of support systems and the dissemination of information from the government, and the private sector's childcare service business, including children's clothing, the education industry, and leisure facilities, has great strength in urban areas.

In terms of "working styles," I think there are more options and possibilities in urban areas.

In the countryside, husbands work full-time and wives work part-time.
And since many households have parents living together or living close to each other, many families seem to have more time for daily life and child-rearing.

I think this is a very happy thing.

On the other hand, in recent years, large corporations and progressive companies located in urban areas have been promoting flexible work styles, such as the expansion of shorter hours, flexible working hours, three-day workweeks, and telework.

If you are the type of person who is not concerned about continuing to belong to one company as most Japanese workers are, but who voluntarily builds up your career and never neglects self-improvement, it would be good, but if not, when considering the overall balance between living time and finances, securing future career and income, etc., it is better to have "a couple with a full-time employee and a non-regular employee" than "a couple with a full-time employee and a non-regular employee A "couple with both full-time employees and one with shorter hours" or "a couple with both full-time employees who return home on time" is more advantageous than "a couple with both full-time employees and one non-full-time employee.

In the countryside, people tend to work fewer long hours than in the cities, but the flexible work style as a system has not spread and is many steps behind in the cities.

Although it is still developing even in the cities, it seems that there is a somewhat high hurdle for "married couples with two full-time employees" in rural nuclear families to raise their children with enough time to spare.

Another disadvantage of raising children in the countryside is that the absolute number of preparatory schools is limited.

And in recent years, due to the declining birthrate, the competitive ratio of high school entrance examinations has become lower, and we can see some areas falling into a structure where the level of schools in the entire region does not rise, but rather continues to decline.

There are high schools in the countryside that have achieved excellent results with unique educational policies and methods, and you are lucky if such a high school is within commuting distance, but it is undeniable that the environment is better in the city if you are aiming for a high academic achievement.

If you value raising your children in a rural area for reasons other than simple academic achievement, then a rural education is a good idea.
For example, if you don’t hesitate to move your child away from you or move with your entire family after high school to consider where to go to school, then this is not much of a disadvantage.

It is also worth noting that geographical barriers to education are being removed due to the rapid digitization of education in recent years.

Now that I have enumerated the disadvantages, let me come to the main question.

Why do we have the image that the countryside is an easy place to raise children?

First of all, the Japanese countryside has an overwhelming advantage in terms of natural environment. I don't have to tell you about this, but it is the biggest strong point of the countryside.

Even if you live in the city, you can experience a variety of nature, but nothing beats the countryside in terms of the scale of nature you can experience, and in terms of being in touch with real nature.

Also, the key point is that in the countryside, you are exposed to nature on a daily basis, and nature is so close at hand that it is taken for granted.
The heightened sensitivity, health, and spirit of exploration that children gain from this environment is very significant.

Some people believe that the quality of the natural environment is proportional to the inconvenience and difficulty of life, which is true to a certain extent, but the benefits that children can gain from the richness of nature, especially in their early years, are very significant.
I think the difference between cities and countryside in terms of natural environment can be found every country, but the difference in Japan is significant.

Another advantage in Japanese countryside is easy access to public facilities (childcare support centers, libraries, parks, etc.).

In a municipality of a certain size, you can reach some kind of public child-rearing facility within a 10-minute drive.

It is undeniable that there are no private childcare service facilities or entertainment facilities for young children, but there are many high-quality municipally-run childcare support facilities these days.

I have been surprised by this, and there are many wonderful places that have a high intellectual and educational component, beautiful indoor and outdoor environments as facilities, and are free to use.
However, it is important to note that this quality varies from municipality to municipality.

Even after children get a little older, they continue to enjoy "easy access to playgrounds," and there are many areas in Japan where "5 minutes to a park, 10 minutes to a place for Barbecue, 15 minutes to a ski resort, and 20 minutes to a campground" without having to worry about shopping, hospitals, and other daily needs.

People who have lived in the countryside for a long time may not realize how wonderful this advantage is, but I believe that city dwellers can understand the magnitude of this advantage.

When we think about our leisure time with family, we can divide two types which are the one "I want to go to the shopping mall or theme park every week and have outdoor fun from time to time" or the one "I want to have outdoor fun every week and go to the shopping mall or theme park from time to time."

When considering whether the city or the countryside is better in terms of leisure time, a good answer depends on the kind of life we want to lead.

Also, for better or worse, there are fewer small children in Japanese countryside, so they are often adored by their neighbors.

If you can walk around with a small child in Japanese country side, you will be loved by your neighbors, especially by elderly women.

One of the major advantages is that children themselves enjoy communication, and parents can easily build good relationships with their neighbors as a result of communication with their children.

Thus, raising children in the countryside can be considered good or bad from many perspectives.

Now that the era of the illusion that entering a good school or a good company means a lifetime of peace and happiness is over in Japan, you may want to consider how you want to raise your children when thinking about moving to the countryside.

On the other hand, children can be raised in any place to some extent.
In this light, parents may want to give priority to the kind of life they want to lead.
In the end, it is highly possible that the choice you made will be the best environment for the child as well.

Lastly, there are many articles about the experiences of people who have moved to the countryside that say, "The whole community is helping me raise my child!" I would like to touch on this point a little bit.

An environment where the entire community is involved in your child-rearing is great, as long in case you like communicate with others.

However, as far as I know, this can only happen in places where several conditions are met.

Specifically, the place must be high degree of rurality, openness among residents, and a healthy and moderate level of community activity despite the aging of the community.

In reality, it is difficult for a person with no connection to suddenly move in and live harmoniously with the other residents in Japan. If you are a foreigner, you probably meet more obstacles which you have to clear including language barriers.

If you want to join and live in such an area, we recommend that you "create a local connection.

One way to do this is to take advantage of local immigration support programs offered by the government, such as the "Regional Development Cooperation Corps,(Chiiki Okoshi Kyouryokutai)" and to build personal connections with NPOs, social entrepreneurs, and other people active in the area.

If you are interested in an area where people say, "The whole community is helping us raise our children!" you will find that the local government's immigration support system is being utilized, and that there are organizations and social entrepreneurs who can be key players in the community.

We hope this will be helpful in your consideration of raising children in a rural area in Japan.