Younger families leaving Tokyo for Japanese capital's neighbors

TOKYO -- The single-pole concentration of Japan's population in the Tokyo metropolitan area has resumed accelerating now that the impact of the coronavirus has weakened. Yet people continue to leave Tokyo itself, especially those of child-rearing age, for its three neighboring prefectures because of soaring housing costs.

However, the three prefectures also risk an increase in abandoned houses as new homes are built to attract residents from other parts of the country. At stake is the traditional wisdom of maintaining communities where people of multiple generations can live side by side.