Net Migration of Foreigners and Municipal-Level Net Migration Losses

Abstract

This paper describes recent characteristics of net migration among Japanese and foreigners at the municipal level and examines the demogeographic features of municipalities by type of net migration. Data based on the Basic Resident Registration reveal that among a total of 1,895 municipalities in the analysis, the net migration loss of Japanese was quantitatively offset completely by the net migration gain of foreigners in 7% of the municipalities in 2014. These municipalities are more likely to be observed in the Northern Kanto and Nagoya regions but less likely in Hokkaido and Tohoku. Basic demographic indicators suggest that these municipalities are characterized by a comparatively high level of foreigners' international inmigration, along with such features as larger municipal populations, lower ratio of the aged among Japanese, and a higher percentage of foreigners. The present results suggest that foreigners' net inmigration does not generally have a sufficient quantitative effect on net outmigration of the total population, especially among municipalities with small populations.