Toshima Ward in Tokyo is accelerating moves to promote the resettlement of healthy seniors in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, where plans to create a retirement community are underway.

On Wednesday, the ward announced the preliminary results of its survey on the so-called CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community) program, conducted late last year. The ward mailed questionnaires to 5,000 randomly picked residents in their 20s to 60s, of which 1,817 people responded.

The results showed that 20.6 percent of the respondents are interested in relocating to Chichibu and 76.9 percent want to avoid doing so. Many who expressed interest cited the city's rich nature and relatively easy access from the ward.