2016 Volume 125 Issue 4 Pages 493-505
Outflow patterns of the population of young people in the Shonai region, Yamagata prefecture are studied. Based on a questionnaire survey, the percentage of parents who want their children to settle in their hometown (Shonai region) is examined. From the 1970s, there was an increase in the ratio of the population aged 20–24 to those aged 0–4 by birth cohort in the Shonai region. However, this ratio began to decline in the mid-1990s. This is attributed to an increase in the rate of entrants to universities outside the region and in the number of students who secured jobs outside the prefecture immediately upon graduating from high school. Although return migration increased the population of those aged 20–24 and 25–29 marginally, the rise was not sustained and the ratios have begun to decline in recent years. In addition, a university established in the Shonai region in 2001 has not been successful in mitigating the decline in the number of people staying. The authors carried out a questionnaire survey of parents of high school third graders, asking them about their expectations for their children's life choices after completing high school. According to the survey, the percentage of parents who wanted their children to settle in their hometown was 66.2%. The results of significance tests show that percentages varied depending on the socioeconomic status of the parents and on their level of satisfaction with life in the region. Most mothers who were university graduates did not expect their children to remain in the hometown. The same was observed for mothers who had experienced life outside the region. Because the percentage of students pursuing higher education has been on the rise in recent years, the number of mothers who are university graduates will also increase, as will the number of mothers who have experienced life outside the region. These factors may cause a further decline in the number of parents who hope that their children remain in the hometown.
