Abstract
The question of whether retirement migration occurs in Japan has raised a certain concern in the country’s population geography since the 1980s. Existing literature has generally taken a rather negative view toward the existence of retirement migration. To reconsider this view, net migration schedules by prefecture/municipality in the country are created using the migration data of the 2010 population census. In particular, the net migration rates of the 60–64 age class after retirement are investigated in detail. Consequently, remarkable human flows to many prefectures/municipalities in peripheral Japan are confirmed; this result indeed indicates positive evidence of retirement migration. If this migration were divided into return migration and non-return migration, it could be inferred that return migration mainly occurs in eastern Japan, while both return migration and non-return migration occur in western Japan. When examined on a municipality basis, it is possible to identify three types of leading destinations for retirement migration: municipalities in Hokkaido, the “Kanto circular villa belt” surrounding Tokyo, and the hilly and mountainous areas in western Japan. Important conditions for attracting retiree migrants include a mild climate, an excellent and scenic natural environment, hot springs, the availability of second houses, nearby airports and highways, and supportive measures for migrants.
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