[An Option Beyond Tourism, Yet Short of Migration] Migration & Relationship Population Matching Service 'SMOUT' Launches Web Site on Wed, April 8, Delivering Real Voices of People Experiencing Regional Connections
KAYAC's matching platform 'SMOUT' launched a new website on April 8, 2026, featuring real stories of individuals who connected with local regions. It aims to lower the hurdle of migration by showcasing diverse 'relationship population' lifestyles.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 9, 2026 at 00:08
- 🔍 Collected: April 8, 2026 at 15:30
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 20, 2026 at 14:43 (287h 12m after Collected)
The regional connection platform 'SMOUT' (https://smout.jp/), operated by KAYAC Inc. (Headquarters: Kamakura, Kanagawa; CEO: Daisuke Yanasawa; TSE Growth: 3904; hereinafter 'KAYAC'), will launch a new website 'People Connected to Regions' (https://lab.smout.jp/stories) on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. The site will introduce personal experiences of individuals who encountered local regions using 'SMOUT' and brought changes to their lifestyles and working styles.
This site will introduce the subsequent realities of users in their own words, covering cases that cannot be fully conveyed solely by the local regions' broadcasts on 'SMOUT'. These include 'cases of people in their 20s engaging with regions as a 'relationship population' without being bound by the form of migration' and 'cases of starting independent businesses after serving as Local Vitalization Co-operators'.
What turning points in life occur, and how do values change through encounters with local regions? From the perspective of individuals who actually took action, we will concretely convey the diverse ways of engaging with regions and the processes involved. Through this, we will encourage people interested in local regions or those seeking a lifestyle true to themselves to naturally incorporate the option of 'local region' into their lives and take the next step.
## ◆ Background: 'Local Region' as an Option at Life's Turning Points, and the Previously Unvisualized Reality of Individuals
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in the option of 'engaging with local regions' has surpassed a passing fad and is becoming established. According to a survey released by the Cabinet Secretariat in February 2025 (*1), about 40% of people in their 20s living in the Tokyo metropolitan area are interested in migrating to rural areas. Similarly, a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (*2) recorded a historic high of approximately 433,000 migration consultations nationwide in FY2024. These data suggest that interest in local regions is steadily rising.
On the other hand, among those interested in migration, only about 40% actually take action, while the remaining 60% are still in the consideration stage (*1). The image that 'migration = a major decision that cannot fail' remains deeply rooted, acting as a hurdle to action. Furthermore, there is a growing need for ways to engage without the premise of migration, such as 'trial migration'. It is estimated that the 'relationship population', who continuously engage with specific regions, reaches approximately 22.63 million people nationwide (about 22% of those aged 18 and older) (*3). However, the reality is that such diverse relationships with regions are not sufficiently recognized.
The projects published on 'SMOUT' primarily focus on information broadcasting from the perspective of the regions, and the stories of what individuals who actually jumped into the regions felt and how they changed their lives and values were not sufficiently visualized.
Against this background, we have opened the new website 'People Connected to Regions' focusing on the real voices of those who experienced it. By delivering the voices of people practicing diverse forms of engagement such as migration, relationship population, and multi-base living, we aim to spread the realization that 'ways of engaging with regions can be freer' and provide an opportunity to take the next step.
This site will introduce the subsequent realities of users in their own words, covering cases that cannot be fully conveyed solely by the local regions' broadcasts on 'SMOUT'. These include 'cases of people in their 20s engaging with regions as a 'relationship population' without being bound by the form of migration' and 'cases of starting independent businesses after serving as Local Vitalization Co-operators'.
What turning points in life occur, and how do values change through encounters with local regions? From the perspective of individuals who actually took action, we will concretely convey the diverse ways of engaging with regions and the processes involved. Through this, we will encourage people interested in local regions or those seeking a lifestyle true to themselves to naturally incorporate the option of 'local region' into their lives and take the next step.
## ◆ Background: 'Local Region' as an Option at Life's Turning Points, and the Previously Unvisualized Reality of Individuals
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in the option of 'engaging with local regions' has surpassed a passing fad and is becoming established. According to a survey released by the Cabinet Secretariat in February 2025 (*1), about 40% of people in their 20s living in the Tokyo metropolitan area are interested in migrating to rural areas. Similarly, a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (*2) recorded a historic high of approximately 433,000 migration consultations nationwide in FY2024. These data suggest that interest in local regions is steadily rising.
On the other hand, among those interested in migration, only about 40% actually take action, while the remaining 60% are still in the consideration stage (*1). The image that 'migration = a major decision that cannot fail' remains deeply rooted, acting as a hurdle to action. Furthermore, there is a growing need for ways to engage without the premise of migration, such as 'trial migration'. It is estimated that the 'relationship population', who continuously engage with specific regions, reaches approximately 22.63 million people nationwide (about 22% of those aged 18 and older) (*3). However, the reality is that such diverse relationships with regions are not sufficiently recognized.
The projects published on 'SMOUT' primarily focus on information broadcasting from the perspective of the regions, and the stories of what individuals who actually jumped into the regions felt and how they changed their lives and values were not sufficiently visualized.
Against this background, we have opened the new website 'People Connected to Regions' focusing on the real voices of those who experienced it. By delivering the voices of people practicing diverse forms of engagement such as migration, relationship population, and multi-base living, we aim to spread the realization that 'ways of engaging with regions can be freer' and provide an opportunity to take the next step.