following four features can be noted for females: (1) The percentage of respondents in the latter half of their teens to their early 20s choosing “to attend school” increased significantly; (2) the percentage of respondents in their 20s choosing “change in marital status” decreased dramatically; (3) the percentage of respondents in their 40s to the first half of their 50s choosing “change in marital status” increased; and (4) the percentage of “family-related reasons” decreased while “other reasons” increased among respondents in their late 70s and up. It is also found that the percentage of respondents who moved “to attend school” grew significantly among the 15-19 age group, from 15.6% to 27.6% and also among the 20-24 age group, from 8.8% to 15.9%. On the other hand, migration due to “change in marital status,” which accounted for 20.9% of the responses chosen by women in the first half of their 20s and 46.8% in the latter half of their 20s, decreased dramatically to 11.2% and 34.0%, respectively. In contrast, migration due to “change in marital status” increased among the female movers in their 40s to the first half of their 50s: from 7.7% to 13.1% among respondents in the first half of their 40s, from 5.7% to 10.2% among those in the latter half of their 40s, and from 4.4% to 8.1% among those in their early 50s. The breakdown of the data indicates that more respondents in the first half of their 40s moved to get married than to get divorced, but the percentages of marriage and divorce were about the same among female respondents in the latter half of their 40s, and eventually the percentage of respondents moving due to divorce exceeded those moved due to marriage among respondents in the first half of their 50s. The percentage of respondents choosing “family-related reasons” decreased among respondents in the latter half of their 70s while the percentage of “other reasons” increased, with most citing “health reasons.” As explained above, it is necessary to exert some caution in the interpretation of these results, since the number of samples is very small for the elderly.

### 4. Reasons for Migration by Previous Residence

Table IV-5 shows the relationship between the previous residential location and reasons for migration, where the previous residential locations are classified into four categories: "within the same municipality as the present residence," "in a different municipality within the same prefecture," "in a different prefecture" and "abroad." Both male and female respondents who migrated from a location within the same municipality as the present residence chose "housing-related reasons" most frequently, and the percentages accounted for approximately 50% for both groups (males: 50.3%, females: 46.0%). Both male and female respondents who migrated from different municipalities within the same prefectures as the present residence also chose "housing-related reasons" most frequently, though in this case this reason accounted for only about one-third (males: 39.1%, females: 34.9%). A greater discrepancy in reasons for migration between males and females were seen as the distance between the previous residence and the present residence grew. The table below thus examines the trends by sex.

Looking at the female respondents’ reasons for migration within the same municipality, the most frequent answer was “housing-related reasons,” as with the male respondents, accounting for a little less than half (46.0%). Except that the percentage of “to accompany a family member(s)” is slightly higher, no notable differences can be seen between the sexes. Regarding migration from other municipalities within the same prefecture, though there are no considerable differences in “family-related reasons” between the sexes, some differences

Table IV-5 Reasons for Moving by Previous Residence: 2001-2006

Male
Previous Residence	Total	(%)	To attend School	Work-related Reasons	Housing-related Reasons	Family-related Reasons	To Accompany Family Members	Change in Marital Status	Other Reasons	Reason Unknown
Same municipality as the present residence	1,593	100.0	1.6	3.0	50.3	7.2	9.7	12.2	12.5	3.5
Different municipality within the same prefecture	973	100.0	4.1	17.9	39.1	7.2	9.2	12.3	8.0	2.3
Different Prefecture	759	100.0	15.8	49.7	9.1	5.5	9.1	3.7	5.4	1.7
Abroad	32	100.0	9.4	65.6	3.1	3.1	9.4	3.1	6.3	0.0
Female
Previous Residence	Total	(%)	To attend School	Work-related Reasons	Housing-related Reasons	Family-related Reasons	To Accompany Family Members	Change in Marital Status	Other Reasons	Reason Unknown
Same municipality as the present residence	1,551	100.0	1.3	2.2	46.0	6.5	12.9	13.7	13.6	3.9
Different municipality within the same prefecture	1,015	100.0	2.3	8.3	34.9	7.1	15.0	18.5	11.3	2.7
Different Prefecture	653	100.0	10.7	18.1	8.7	8.1	29.9	13.9	8.0	2.6
Abroad	41	100.0	12.2	14.6	4.9	2.4	29.3	12.2	19.5	4.9