Press Release
Contact information:
Reiko Hayashi, DirectorYoshimi Chitose, Senior Researcher
Kastuhisa Kojima, Senior Researcher
Department of International Research and Cooperation
National Institute of Population and Social Security Research
Tel: 03-3595-2984 (ext. 4421, 4422, 4420)

Original in JapaneseJanuary 25, 2013

Summary of the results of the Seventh National Survey on Migration
Migration slowdown in the past five years with clear settlement trends after return migration
The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research releases the summary of the results ofthe Seventh National Survey on Migration implemented in FY 2011.
The National Survey on Migration reveals the migration trends such as the geographical migration
history, reasons for migration or the migration prospects for the next five years. The objective of the survey
is to obtain necessary data for the formulation of relevant policies and for the projection of regional
population of Japan. The Seventh National Survey on Migration was implemented in July 2011 in 44
prefectures, excluding the prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima due to the Great East Japan
Earthquake (The survey was held in September for Hokkaido). The results were tabulated from 29,320
household members in 11,353 households out of 15,449 eligible households (the valid response rate was73.5%).
Highlights of the Survey•

The percentage of respondents whose residence five years earlier differs from their current residence was26.7%, showing a decline from the previous survey in 2006 (28.1%). There was a decline in all age groups,
with the exception of ages 30-34, showing a clear slowdown in migration trends. (Page 3, Table II-1, FigureII-1)•The percentage of respondents who have been living in their current residence since birth did not change sincethe last survey (10.7%), but the share of respondents migrating across prefecture and nation increased
somewhat, rising 2.0 and 0.2 points, respectively. (Page 4, Figure III-1)•The relationship between birthplace and current residence by region indicates that the percentage ofrespondents who are residing in the same region as their birthplace is high for the Tokyo area (90.4%) and theChukyo area (89.9%). (Page 5, Table III-1)•In terms of reasons for migration to current residence, “to attend school”, “for work-related reasons,” and“change in marital status” increased (0.8 points, 1.3 points, and 0.9 points, respectively), while “to accompany
family members” decreased (2.3 points). The percentage of females giving the reason for migration as “toattend school” increased greatly from 3.6% to 6.0%. (Page 7, Table IV-1)•The percentage of respondents returning to their birth prefecture (“Prefectural U-turn migrants”) was 13.3%,
which is slightly higher than the 12.7% of the previous survey. The percentage increased in the older age
groups from ages 60 to 74, but this is due to the aging of respondents who previously returned to and remainedin their birth prefecture. (Page 10, Table V-1 and Page 11, Figure V-1)

•The percentage of respondents with prospects for migration in five years (the sum of those answering “verylikely” and “somewhat likely”) was 20.1%, showing a tendency similar to the previous survey. (Page 13,Figure VI-1)•

The percentage of respondents who have lived abroad increased slightly from 3.6% of the previous survey to3.9%. The increase was particularly high for those in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. (Page 15, Table VII-1)

Note: Figures of the previous survey are recalculated excluding the prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima for acomparison.