Regional relocation in Japan is trending: looking at the relocation boom through lifestyle magazines
If the Japanese government's 2014 regional revitalization policy directly encouraged the public to move to the countryside through policy, then in the Japanese magazine market, many lifestyle magazines depicting local life had already, well before 2014, through one high-quality photo after another and one story after another that stirred longing, nurtured the public's elegant imagination of leaving the city and living in the countryside.
At present, there are three Japanese magazines themed on regions and life: The Book of Country Life (Inaka Kurashi no Hon), SOTOKOTO (Sotokoto), and TURNS.
The Book of Country Life (Inaka Kurashi no Hon)
Edited by Takarajimasha, which publishes various women's fashion magazines, it frequently runs rankings of local towns by various "migration indices," and introduces the features and advantages of each town to move to. The vivid photography style, along with local buildings-for-sale listings that take up nearly one-fifth of the magazine, give the whole publication the feel of a local-migration advertising catalog.
A Japanese person once described this magazine this way: it lets slightly wealthier people, while reading, picture a luxurious country-life dream.
[Notes]
U-Turn (U-turn): Born in a rural area, moved to the city for school, and after graduating returned to work in one's hometown.
I-Turn (I-turn): A city person who, after graduating from school in the city, goes to work for a company in a rural area.
J-Turn (J-turn): Born in a rural area, moved to the city for school, and after graduating goes to work in another rural area (not one's hometown).