The 1985-90 Net Migration of Age Groups Within Hyogo Prefecture

Abstract

The analyses of the migration between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas and of the locational behavior of plants including the redistribution of manufacturing employment are effective for examining the urbanization process and restructuring of Japanese urban system. Based on the data of the 1985-90 migration obtained by‘the residence survey before five years’in the 1990 Census the writer examines the net migration of seven age groups between each municipality in Hyogo Prefecture. Although the out-migrations to another prefectures lacks in this data, it is yet very valuable because one can analyze the migration pattern of each of seven age groups in each municipality of Hyogo Prefecture. In this study special attention is focused on the net migration of young people (15-24 and 25-34yr. age groups) and the retired and elderly's migration (65 + and 55-64yr. age groups). Though it is difficult to understand the migration trends by observing the data in only one period, the results analyzed are summarized as follows:1) Due to a great number of net outmigrants from the manufacturing cities in the Osaka Metropolitan Area such as Amagasaki, Nishinomiya, etc. the migration flows of 25-34yr. age group in this prefecture are the highest and are followed by 35-44yr. age group; this is a little different from the general trend in Japan where the 15-24yr. age group forms the largest flow. In addition, the phenomenon of the second maximum formed by the retired group's migration is not recognized, unlike most western countries, as shown in Table 1.2) The net migrants of adolescents (15-24yr. age group) tend to be concentrated in Kobe to get opportunities of post-secondary education and various kinds of jobs (Fig. 3) while those of the 25-34yr. age group tend to flow in to central cities such as Himeji, Toyooka etc. for job opportunities, transference and women's marriages from their daily city regions (Fig. 4). The return net migration can be observed in some municipalities in the northern part of the prefecture but such a phenomenon is not so remarkable. In addition, it can be indicated that the mobility of the 45-54 and 55-64yr. age groups has stagnated due to the education of their children (Figs. 6 and 7). Although the mobility of the elderly is similarly not so active, the flows of their net migration are slightly different (Fig. 8). This seems to be affected by the out-migration to their sun's dwelling or to an old-people's home.3) Analyzing the commuting areas by using the 1985 Census Kobe, Himeji, Toyooka, Nishiwaki and Sumoto qualified as central cities with their own daily city regions. Within them, however, only two higher order centers, Kobe and Himeji, fall under the category of migration centers, although they play a contrasting role in the migration pattern as mentioned above. Since Himeji has experienced a net out-migration by the restructuring of heavy industry, the net out-migrants of its own people of the 25-34yr. age group flow to Kobe so that one cannot recognize the phenomenon of ‘J-turn’, the return migration to the near-by cities of people's native villages. The migration patterns in Toyooka and Nishiwaki also are similar to Himeji.4) The municipalities are classified into four types by analyzing their migration pattern for each age group: types A, B, C and D. Type A shows a net in-migration pattern for all age groups whereas type D is its opposite. Type B consists of a net in-migration of young people and the a out-migration of middle-aged and old-aged persons including young dependents (5-14 age group), whereass type C is in the converse position. In addition, if types B and C fill the condition of social increase of population, they are subdivided into type B2 and type C1 or C2, respectively.