Omoshiroi! This is a really nice write up. Education is indeed very expensive and the towns outside of Tokyo have difficulties surviving, with only older people

Omoshiroi! This is a really nice write up. Education is indeed very expensive and the towns outside of Tokyo have difficulties surviving, with only older people remaining there. Those towns have to be very creative to attract money and people. You can get a house for free, if you will live there, similar to some Italian towns. In the Netherlands we have similar issue of towns fighting for survival in more rural parts (Limburg). They try to combine schools of several towns to reduce the cost of teachers, and similar combining police stations. Lowering the friction for such 'gift tax' is interesting, Japanese are big into all kind of little gifts: if you go on holiday you bring something small, an Omiage. If you attend a birthday party, not only you bring a present (which is usual everywhere) but the guest also get a little gift in return, an Okaeshi.