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Japan Migration
Between 6 million and 7 million people moved their
residences
each year during the 1980s. About 50 percent of these
moves were
within the same prefecture; the others were relocations
from one
prefecture to another. During Japan's economic development
in the
twentieth century, and especially during the 1950s and
1960s,
migration was characterized by urbanization as people from
rural
areas in increasing numbers moved to the larger
metropolitan areas
in search of better jobs and education. Out-migration from
rural
prefectures continued in the late 1980s, but more slowly
than in
previous decades.
In the 1980s, government policy provided support for
new urban
development away from the large cities, particularly
Tokyo, and
assisted regional cities to attract young people to live
and work
there. Regional cities offered familiarity to those from
nearby
areas, lower costs of living, shorter commutes, and, in
general, a
more relaxed life-style then could be had in larger
cities. Young
people continued to move to large cities, however, to
attend
universities and find work, but some returned to regional
cities (a
pattern known as U-turn) or to their prefecture of origin
(a
pattern known as J-turn).
Government statistics show that in the 1980s
significant
numbers of people left the largest cities (Tokyo and
Osaka). In
1988 more than 500,000 people left Tokyo, which
experienced a net
loss through migration of nearly 73,000 for the year.
Osaka had a
net loss of nearly 36,000 in the same year. However, the
prefectures showing the highest net growth are located
near the
major urban centers, such as Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, and
Kanazawa
around Tokyo, and Hyogo, Nara, and Shiga near Osaka and
Kyoto. This
pattern suggests a process of suburbanization, people
moving away
from the cities for affordable housing but still commuting
there
for work and recreation, rather than a true
decentralization.
Japanese economic success has led to an increase in
certain
types of external migration. In 1990 about 11 million
Japanese went
abroad. More than 80 percent of these people traveled as
tourists,
especially visiting other parts of Asia and North America.
However,
about 663,100 Japanese were living abroad, approximately
75,000 of
whom had permanent foreign residency, more than six times
the
number who had that status in 1975. More than 200,000
Japanese went
abroad in 1990 for extended periods of study, research, or
business
assignments. As the government and private corporations
have
stressed internationalization, greater numbers of
individuals have
been directly affected, decreasing Japan's historically
claimed
insularity. Despite the benefits of experiencing life
abroad,
individuals who have lived outside of Japan for extended
periods
often faced problems of discrimination upon their return
because
others might no longer consider them fully Japanese. By
the late
1980s, these problems, particularly the bullying of
returnee
children in the schools, had become a major public issue
both in
Japan and in Japanese communities abroad
(see Primary and Secondary Education
, ch. 3).
Data as of January 1994
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