Migration Behavior of the Suburban Second Generation

A Case Study of Kozoji New Town

Abstract

This paper examines the migration careers of people who have been raised in the suburbs, called the “suburban second generation, ” and the conditions that have influenced their migration. The study area is Kozoji New Town of the city of Kasugai located 20 km from Nagoya. The analysis is based on a questionnaire survey and interviews.
According to the questionnaire, the migration characteristics of the respondents differ between men and women. While unmarried, the ratios of people who continue to live with their parents and migrate within a short dintance are higher among women than men. Upon marriage, the ratio of people who move a long distance is higher among women than men.
Next, the author collected biographical information from three people who were raised in Kozoji New Town by interview and examined the conditions that influenced their migration. Migration after graduation from high school is generally restricted by formal conditions such as the high school career counseling system and the university entrance examination system. But parental attitudes and wishes, particularly positive vinus of the traditional gender roles, also affect the migration of youth. Upon entering employment, the disadvantageous conditions of entering the labor market for new female graduates affects the behavior among women in terms of coresiding with parents. After graduation, informal conditions such as family situation and financial conditions are important. Those with no experience of higher education, regular employment and marriage, often regard coresidence with parents as more a matter of course than as an economic strategy. This is due to societal norms in Japan that permit prenuptial coresidence with parents.
Taking for granted the gender division of labor after marriage, women migrate to near their husbands parental home and workplace on the assumption that they will quit their jobs. Moreover, the physical conditions of the parental home and its neighborhood restrict postnuptial coresidence. There are various expectations held by married couples and their parents regarding postnuptial living arrangements, and thus married couples are likely to experience psychological conflict. In addition, generational differences in attitudes concerning the norm of preference for the eldest son and the increase in the ratio of eldest children serve to intensify such conflict.
Most conditions influencing the migration of the suburban second generation reflect the following characteristics of suburbs and metropolitan areas:
1. There are many parents in the suburbs who chose the type of employment leading to the gender division of labor.
2. There are abundant employment and educational opportunities in metropolitan areas.
3. The ratio of those raised in the suburbs to the people living in metropolitan areas is higher than in the preceding generation.
4. Residential sections in the suburbs have mostly been developed for the sake of young nuclear family households.
Hence, the past actions and features of the parents‚ generation have partly formed the present characteristics of suburbs. The migration of people who have been raised in the suburbs should be placed on a time continuum from their parents‚ inflow into the suburbs to the present.