1996 Volume 51 Issue 1 Pages 19-33
Some papers reported that the internal migration patterns in the 1980s showed a tendency to be reconcentrated into core regions in developed countries including Japan. In analyzing the internal migration patterns in developed countries, it is important to examine inter-urban migration patterns. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the inter-urban migration pattems in Japan between 1985 and 1990 by employing 1990 Population Census of Japan. This paper consists of three sections. The first section investigates the inter-urban migration patterns in the 1985-1990 period. The second section reveals the migration patterns between the three major metropolitan areas(the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya metropolitan areas)and cities in non-metropolitan areas(which are composed of thirty-five prefectures except for the three major metropolitan areas)in the same period. The last section is devoted to the examination of the internal migration patterns in each major metropolitan area. The main findings obtained are summarized as follows ; 1) The inter-urban migration patterns in Japan between 1985 and 1990 are characterized by the concentration of migrants into higher order cities(Ia - IIIa classes), especially into the three major cities(Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya cities)and regional centers such as Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima and Fukuoka. 2) The migration areas to the three major metropolitan areas are spatially very different from each other. The Tokyo metropolitan area attracts its net in-migrants from the whole non-metropolitan areas, particularly Northeastern Japan(the Hokkaido and Tohoku district)and the Kyushu district. On the other hand, the migration areas to the Osaka and Nagoya metropolitan areas are spatially limited, the Osaka metropolitan area plays an important role as the center of internal migration only in Western Japan(the Kinki, Ctugoku and Shikoku district), while the Nagoya metropolitan area attracts net in-migrants not only from the Tokai district(Aichi, Gifu and Mie prefectures)but also from the Kyushu district. Nagoya metropolitan area is characterized by relatively close connection with cities(e.g.Kitakyushu, Nagasaki and Kagoshima)located in the Kyushu district. 3) The internal migration patterns in the Tokyo metropolitan area differ from those in the Osaka and Nagoya metropolitan areas. Because of rapid growth of the Tokyo metropolitan area it is characterized by high mobility of the population and active suburbanization from the central city(the ward area of Tokyo prefecture)in comparison with the others. In addition, it is clear that the suburb areas with high commuting rates to the central cities of the three major metropolitan areas tend to show higher gross and net migration rates to the central cities than the outer areas.
