In this paper, recent change in regional fertility in Japan is examined by using an improved measure, which is a kind of indirect standardized fertility rate derived from Princeton Indices. The measure has two sets of fertility rates as the standard, that is, age-specific fertility rates (F_i) and age-specific marital fertility rates (Fm_i), both as of 1970 for Japan, and it uses the population of 0 year of age (OP) in place of births. Thus, this fertility measure can be calculated by using census data only. This measure consists of three indices; over-all fertility, marital fertility and proportion married expressed respectively by: C_f=(OP)/(ΣF_iW_i); C_g=(OP)/(ΣFm_iM_i); C_m=(ΣFm_iM_i)/(ΣF_iW_i), where W_i denotes females in age i and M_i does married females in age i, and the relation between indices is shown by C_f=C_g・C_m. Some findings obtained by using those indices mentioned above are as follows: first, fertility (C_f) in Japan has lowered since early 1970. Second, four metropolitan regions, especially Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan region, have exhibited the greatest decline of C_f and its components, C_g and C_m. Third, however, the farther from the metropolitan regions and the more rural the regions are, the more moderate the decline of C_f and the higher the proportion of C_m in its decline are. Fourth, as the reason why the metropolitan regions have experienced the highest decline of fertility during this period, it is considered that after the demographic-transition was over, fertility in those regions turned to slight rise, and again it reversed when the economic growth slowed down, while fertility in rural regions has kept low level because the demographic transition in those regions just ended around around 1970.
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