I see this as a step in a transition that will likely lead to what you are suggesting, the costs even in the places cited by the article will start to rise and

I see this as a step in a transition that will likely lead to what you are suggesting, the costs even in the places cited by the article will start to rise and then rural Japan will become a too obvious choice to be ignored. Something similar is starting to happen in IT for India/east europe/etc... , just don't ask me how much time it will take...