## V III Leaving home and migration

## 1 Experience of leaving home

The present survey asked household heads and their spouses for their experiences of leaving home, reasons, and ages when leaving home. Respondents with experience of “leaving home” are defined as those who left their parents’ home and established independent households. Table 24 shows data on experiences of leaving home, reasons, and age when leaving home by sex, birth cohort, and birthplace (metropolitan or non-metropolitan area).

For males, the percentages with experience of leaving home are around 70% for those born before 1940. This is true whether they were born in the metropolitan or non-metropolitan areas. This percentage, however, exceeds 80% for those born in 1940 and after, and surpasses 90% for those born in 1950 and after. While data on siblings are not shown here, such an increase in the rates of having experienced leaving home, despite the increase in the percentage of the first son among siblings in the post-war period, suggests a growing tendency for even the first son to leave the parents' home and establish separate households, regardless of sibling relations. Females also show a similar trend by birth cohort, but their percentages for leaving home are higher than those of males.

## 2 Reasons for leaving home

Against the background of an increase in the rate of entering higher educational institutes, the percentages of those who left home for educational advance have been increasing for both males and females in the generations born in 1950 and after. This trend is more outstanding among those born in the non-metropolitan areas. In the case of males born in non-metropolitan areas, considerably high percentages for leaving home (60% strong) are accounted for by leaving home to get a job in the generations born in the 1930s and 1940s. In the generations born in 1960 and after, getting a job is still the biggest reason for leaving home, but admission to school comes to show a similar percentage (“admission to school” 41.3%, “obtained job” 44.5%). For females born in non-metropolitan areas, the main reason for leaving home changed gradually from getting a job plus marriage to marriage, and then getting a job increased. In the generation born in the 1960s, however, admission to school became the second largest reason following marriage (“marriage” 34.8%, “admission to school” 32.7%, “obtained job” 25.8%). These results indicate that influenced by periodic situations, reasons for leaving home have sharply changed among non-metropolitan born females. In contrast, females born in metropolitan areas show relatively simple patterns of leaving home. Getting a job and marriage altogether account for more than 80% of the reasons for leaving home in all generations born before 1950. In particular, the percentage for marriage is strong at 60%. In the generations born in 1950 and after, marriage still remains the biggest reason for leaving home. In any case, the percentage of metropolitan-born females who do not leave home until marriage remains at over 60% in all generations from those born pre-war to recent birth cohorts.

## 3 Age when leaving home

Factors such as postponement of marriage and increased accessibility to higher education, which gained momentum in the post-war period, play a role in prolonging the period of stay with parents and raising the age of leaving home. In general, the timing of leaving home is considered to be later for females, because more females stay with their parents until marriage. This tendency is more conspicuous among