Back to home page
1994 - VOLUME 50, NUMBER 210
95.32.1 - Japanese - Hachiro NISHIOKA, Keiko WAKABAYASHI, Hisashi INABA and Chizuko TAMAMOTO
Trends of migration in Japan: major findings from the third Japanese national survey on migration, 1991 (p. 1-28)
The third national migration survey in Japan was carried out in November 1991, using a representative sample of 34,781 people from the 265 census districts. The main results of the survey are presented in this article. Various kinds of analysis of the matrices of interregional migration highlight the fact that, from 1985 to 1990, international migration in Japan moved in the direction of a decentralisation of the population. Employment, education and marriage were the three main reasons behind urban immigration until the 1960s; since 1980, international migration to the metropolitan areas is more significant in numbers and is particularly motivated by the search for better housing. The survey also makes it possible to study for how long households have been settled in their present residence and the return movements to a person's district of birth. In Japan, the norms which govern relationships between an individual and his or her family exert a very strong influence on migratory movements. (JAPAN, INTERNAL MIGRATION, MIGRATION TRENDS)
95.32.2 - Japanese - Makoto ATOH, et al. Attitudes toward marriage and the family among the unmarried Japanese youth (p. 29-49)
The Tenth Japanese National Survey on Fertility, undertaken in July 1992, included a survey on the attitude of young unmarried Japanese people toward marriage and the family. A national representative sample of 12,394 single people aged between 18 and 49 was interviewed, with a satisfactory response rate of 77.7%. Almost 90% of the single people interviewed would like to get married one day, but this proportion is showing a slight decline compared to the previous survey. On the other hand, the percentage of those who would prefer to delay their marriage to give them time to find the ideal partner (approximately half of those who would like to get married) has increased considerably. There were many questions set on the comparative advantages and disadvantages of marriage and celibacy, on the obstacles to marriage (in particular, of a financial nature), on the choice between love matches (on the increase) and arranged marriages, on cohabitation with parents or in-laws, on going out with frieds of the opposite sex, on the desired number of children (which coincides with the average Japanese family size of 2.2 children) and on the ideal age at first marriage). (JAPAN, AGED, HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION, POPULATION PROJECTIONS, SEX DIFFERENTIALS)
1994 - VOLUME 50, NUMBER 211
95.32.3 - Japanese - Ryuichi KANEKO Trends in demand and supply factors of marriage in Japanese never-married population: findings from the Tenth Japanese National Fertility Survey (p. 1-24)
In the framework of the Tenth Japanese National Fertility Survey, which was carried out in July 1992, 4,215 single males and 3,647 single females were interviewed on their attitudes with regard to marriage and the family, using the theory of supply and demand as a guide. It was observed that the norm of marriage for everyone is beginning to pale a little - 10% of single people do not foresee ever getting married. The ideal age at marriage is increasing and, since the last survey, the " demande factors " of marriage have slipped back. Relationships with people of the opposite sex still remain a rare occurrence and are very restricted and those who wish to get married complain of being hampered by numerous obstacles and constraints (and the more so, the older they are). These marriage " supply factors " have hardly changed at all since the previous survey. Finally, attitudes are rather contradictory, with single people apparently not in any rush to get married and accusing marriage of being an inaccessible entity. One possible explanation lies in the changes in the very nature of marriage which makes the candidates more and more demanding: marriage has a higher " psychological cost " than celibacy. (JAPAN, CELIBACY, FIRST MARRIAGE, SUPPLY AND DEMAND)
95.32.4 - Japanese - Kiyosi HIROSIMA, et al. Projection of household condition of the elderly in Japan (p. 25-51)
Using the 1975, 1980, 1985 and 1990 estimates, projections up to the year 2010 have been made of the conditions of the elderly with regard to housing (distribution of the elderly, categorised by age, sex and marital status, and according to the household type in which they live). It was first observed that there will be a considerable increase in the proportion of married people: between 1990 and 2010, the rate will double for males and be multiplied by 2.5 for females. The proportion of widows and widowers, on the other hand, will drop from 54% to 34%. The number of men living alone will more than treble while the number of women alone will double. The " husband-wife " pattern will, however, be the main one for males while the " parent-child " pattern will prevail for females. The tendency to live with a child will continue to decline (from 58% to 40%) as it has done over the last 20 years. (JAPAN, AGED, HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION, POPULATION PROJECTIONS, SEX DIFFERENTIALS)
1994 - VOLUME 50, NUMBER 212
95.32.5 - Japanese - Makoto ATOH The global significance of the Cairo conference. The new programme of action of the International Conference on Population and Development (p. 1-17)
The International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, September 5th-13th, 1994) mobilised more than 15,000 people, of which 3,500 were governmental representatives from more than 180 countries. A new Action Programme for the next 20 years was unanimously adopted at this Conference. In the present article, the author begins by describing briefly the main demographic trends and their economic and ecological implications. He then covers the development of the various arguments over the course of the three preparatory conferences right up to the final consensus in Cairo. He then summarises and comments on each chapter of the Action Programme and compares its main lines to those of the previous programmes (Bucharest and Mexico). He concludes by dealing with the inefficiency of the strategy proposed by the Cairo document to face up to the population and developmental issues from a perspective of long-term viability. The star concepts of the Cairo Conference were reproductive health, reproductive rights and women's power. Consequently, family planning has been re-defined as a means of achieving individual reproductive goals rather than as a tool for governmental demographic policies. (CONFERENCES, WORLD POPULATION PLAN OF ACTION)
95.32.6 - Japanese - Eiko NAKANO and Yoshikazu WATANABE The views for marriage among unmarried youths in contemporary Japan (p. 18-32)
By analysing the replies of a sub-sample of single people in the Tenth Japanese National Fertility Survey (1992), the authors have discovered that more than two-thirds of young unmarried Japanese people prefer a love match to an arranged marriage (and, the younger they are, the more so). Ideal age at marriage increases with increasing age of the person interviewed, but, no matter their age, men prefer to marry a younger woman, while women always hope for a man to be two or three years older than themselves. Women's expectations with regard to their future husband are mainly related to his personality, but also to his financial status, his social standing, his physical attributes, his family and his education. Men are mainly interested in personality, followed by the physical attributables of their future wives. Single women envisage two types of family life: either remaining a housewife all their lives or else, giving up their career in order to bring up their children, before going back to work. This second type of career for women is the one preferred by most men and women. The wish to live with parents or in-laws following marriage varies according to various individual characteristics. (JAPAN, CELIBACY, FIRST MARRIAGE, PREFERENCES, SEX DIFFERENTIALS)
Back to home page