Motives of migration : I/J-turn migration in Osakikamijima

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UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM

Motives of Migration

I/J-turn Migration in Osakikamijima

Koen Tulleners - 10014616 6/27/2016

Contemporary Asian Studies

Master Thesis

Graduate School of Social Sciences Supervisor: Tina Harris

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Abstract

This thesis focusses on the current urban –rural migration trend in Japan. Similarly to the situation in many countries, the Japanese countryside is largely emptying with the majority of Japans rural population moving to urban areas. In recent years the Japanese government has attempted to counteract this flow of migration and aimed to repopulate declining regions. Throughout the thesis I argue the following: First, current government policy within Japan will unlikely be able to counteract rural depopulation on a scale which is necessary to solve the threat of decline and depopulation the majority of rural communities in Japan face. This due to a lack of understanding about the motives behind current non-work related urban-rural migration and the neoliberal approach of the Abe cabinet which promotes inter-regional competition instead of providing a solution for the Japanese countryside as a whole. Secondly, voluntary internal migration in Japan is not necessarily bound to appeal of a specific destination, but instead is initiated by a desire to leave urban places of residences due to unintentional individualizing effects of current neoliberal policy and societal change which lead to dissatisfaction about people’s social situation and feelings of loneliness and displacement within Japan’s urban society. Third, the choice for a rural destination over other destinations is shaped by a

combination of rural idylls and less intervening obstacles compared to other destinations. Fourth, the group majority of voluntary I/J-turn migrants share a set of similar characteristics which both enable and motive them to leave their former place of residence. Finally, urban-rural migrants use their place of destination for an attempt to create the circumstances they desire which are absent in both their place of origin as well as at their destination in additional to the attractions present at their destination.

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Table of Images

IMAGE 1.MAP OF JAPAN WITH LOCATION OF OSAKIKAMIJIMA ... 5

IMAGE 2.MAP OF OSAKIKAMIJIMA. ... 5

IMAGE 3.ABANDONED BOWLING ALLEY IN OSAKIKAMIJIMA... 14

IMAGE 4.ONE OF THE MANY DILAPIDATED HOUSES IN OSAKIKAMIJIMA. ... 14

IMAGE 5.SCREENSHOT OF OSAKIKAMIJIMA’S TOURISM HOMEPAGE. ... 37

IMAGE 6.BLOG POST FEATURING OSAKIKAMIJIMA'S NATURAL SCENES. ... 41

IMAGE 7.OSAKIKAMIJIMA TOWN BANNER. ... 44

IMAGE 8.VIEW OF HIGASHINO-OSAKIKAMIJIMA. ... 55

Table of Figures

FIGURE 1.DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF POPULATION DECLINE. ... 13

FIGURE 2.LEE'S MODEL OF MIGRATION . ... 24

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Introduction

The population of Japan has been declining since 2010. This makes Japan one of the first countries to encounter the trend of population decline which has been predicted for many advanced economies, assuming they stay on their current course (IMF, 2015). This population decline, for a large part caused by a decreasing birth rate and low immigration numbers, is somewhat slowed by the increased life expectancy of the Japanese population (Butkiewixz, 2012). But instead of containing the effects of a shrinking population, this increased life expectancy causes another great challenge for Japan, namely the aging (or "greying") of the population. The relative increase of older people weighs heavily on rural areas in Japan, which already have been coping with a population decline due to growing rural-urban migration since the 1960s (Dzienis, 2011). Rural villages with a large amount of vacant houses, emptied out stores, and a population largely consisting of senior citizens can be found all over Japan (Anderson & Hussey, 2000). The national government as well as many local rural municipalities has drafted multiple policies in order to combat this rural decline. However, until recently, these policies, of which of many have been implemented since the early 1990s, have in general failed to yield any significant positive results.

According to the findings of the 2014 white paper of the Japanese Ministry of Land,

Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (henceforth called MLIT) in recent years there has been a small but increasing interest in rural areas among city-born in search of a ‘slower’ life (Buerk, 2011), and this has led to an urban-rural flow of migration. This urban- rural migration in Japan, which in popular debate has been dubbed ‘I-turn’ or ‘I ターン’ migration. The ‘I’ standing for ‘Inaka’ (田舎) which is the Japanese word for countryside (MLIT, 2014). In addition to I-turn migration there are two other

influential streams of rural bound migration in Japan. First, the so called ‘U-turn’ migration, which refers to migrants who previously had moved from their rural place of origin to urban areas but have decided to move back to their rural hometowns or area. Second are the so called ‘J-turn’ (or sometimes also called ‘L-turn’) migrants. These J-turners are people who have migrated from a rural hometown to an urban area and from there migrated to a different rural area than where they grew up (Dzienis, 2011; pp 180 & MLIT, 2014; pp 30). Both U-turn and J-turn trends of migration are named for the shape of their migration pattern. In U-turn migration, a migrant returns to their place of origin and thus creates a ‘U’ shaped path of migration returning to the same direction as where they started from. J-turn migrants do not have a migration pattern where they return to their place of origin, therefore the usage of a ‘J’ to

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5 show that the pattern of migration does not return in the same direction as ones hometown or area (Wiltshire, 1979). The trends of I-turn and J-turn migration are steadily increasing, but are still not on a scale which may counteract the depopulation of Japan’s declining areas. However, these trends could be a sign that new migration flows might gain ground within the foreseeable future and which may be part of a solution to counteract Japan’s rapid rural decline. It should be noted that when terms such as ‘migration’ or ‘immigrant’ is used throughout this thesis this will only refer to internal migration and native migrants unless it is clearly stated otherwise.

In this thesis I explore the motives of migration of migrants who have moved to the island of Osakikamijima. Osakikamijima is a town with a population of 7,967 (May 31, 2016) located in the Hiroshima prefecture of Japan on an island of the Seto inland sea which is also named Osakikamijima (Image 1 & 2). The total land area of the island is 43.24km2 (Osakikamijima Town Office, 2016). Until April 2003 the island was host to the three towns of Osaki, Higashino and Kinoe, which merged to the single town of Osakikamijima. This merger was the result of the active policy of the Japanese national government which, in a reaction to the rapid population decline of small towns and villages, pushed towards the merger of local municipalities mainly in order to lower costs of local administrations (Takaharu, 2007; Yokomichi, 2007). 1 Osakikamijima, like the majority of Japan’s rural municipalities is

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The large scale merger of local municipalities in the early 2000s is also known as the Great Heisei Consolidation.

Image 2. Map of Japan with location of Osakikamijima. Source: Google Maps

Image 1. Map of Osakikamijima. Source: Google Maps

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6 still suffering from a strong population decline, decreasing by a total of almost 22 percent over the last 16 years from a population of 10,131 in 2000 (Osakikamijima Town Office, 2016). If not stopped, this decline may result in the total depopulation of the island. However, also similar to many other rural communities in Japan, an increase in the number of I-turn, J-turn and U-turn migrants can be found.

U-turn migration in Japan is mainly caused by family obligations of children (MLIT, 2014; pp 32-33). For instance, the eldest son of Japanese families is often expected to take over the family business when their parents reach the age of retirement. In addition, the oldest child of a family is in most cases expected to take care of his or her parents when they grow old. This trend is also visible in

Osakikamijima, where all of my U-turn respondents stated that their main reason for return was to take care of their elderly parents. And although married daughters are generally exempt from this

responsibility due to their being married into new households, single daughters are expected to return to their parental house if the need for care rises (Traphagan, 2000). The 2014 ‘White Paper on Land,

Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Japan’ by the MLIT shows that over 20% of the U-turn

respondents of their Public Awareness Survey of 2014 did indeed migrate back to their hometowns mainly due to family responsibilities, making this the most common cause of return migration (MLIT, 2014; pp 33). In addition to family responsibilities leading to return migration of U-turners of working age, another large part of U-turn migration consist of retirees who wish to spend their retirement in their place of birth rather than in the city (MLIT, 2014).

For both I-turn and J-turn migrants the main cause of migration are work opportunities at their new living location (MLIT, 2014; pp 33). However, an increasing number of I/J-turn migrants are moving to the countryside due to non-work related reasons like rich natural environments, slower pace of life and a lower cost of living (MLIT, 2014; pp 34).

In this thesis, I explore the reasons for migration towards Osakikamijima. My findings are based upon three months of fieldwork in Osakikamijima and its surrounding areas, during which a total of twenty-three migrants of which thirteen I-turn migrants, three J-turn migrants, three U-turn migrants and four prospective I-turners spoke about their motives for migration and their current life situation. In addition, multiple local stakeholders, including town office employees and local business owners were interviewed in order to provide an insight into policy implementation and the community situation. Throughout this thesis, I will present my findings and data mainly by using descriptions and analyzes of my findings. The usage of quotes is very limited in this thesis due to language issues, which often caused the use of over simplified wording due to a limited English vocabulary of my respondents, and my

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7 limited Japanese vocabulary. Therefore, I choose to present my findings by focusing on a limited number of respondents, who are a representation of conditions and ideas of my respondents as a whole and by using the case of one of these migrants as the main representative.

I argue that although the reasons for migration proposed by the MLIT did indeed play a large role for migrants in their decision of destination, some major motivations driving the decision to migrate itself are generally undervalued. These motivations being: dissatisfaction about the previous social relations or major changes in the social situation in the place of departure. There may be multiple reasons why these motives are generally overlooked in policy. For one, the variety in specifics of social situation and the experience about ones social situation differ from person to person. Therefore, although people may share a feeling of dissatisfaction about their social life, or went through a negative change in their social situation, it is very difficult to group these people in for instance survey research. As can be seen in the 2014 White paper of the MLIT (pp.33) the second most common reason for living in their current location, around 19% of I/J-turn respondents, is categorized as ‘other’ while 7 of the 16 specified proposed reasons are considered main reasons for migration off for less than one percent per category. And although this does not mean that the 19% ‘other’ reasons for living in their current locations are similar, it is likely that there are reasons among these ‘other’ that account for more than one percent of the respondents. Furthermore, the large percentage of unspecified reasons suggests that the understanding of motives of urban-rural migration among policy makers in Japan is still lacking.

I will approach the phenomenon of urban-rural migration in Japan following the main research question of: “What are the deciding factors of urban-rural migrants in their decision for migration, and

how did their experience compare to their expectations?” I present an answer to this question by

comparing national trends and ideas about migration in Japan to the lives and experiences of my respondents in Osakikamijima. Throughout this thesis I will regularly refer the most recent, 2014 ‘White

Paper on Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Japan’ and the results of the 2014 ‘Public Awareness Survey’ and its findings. In this white paper the Japanese MLIT presents their main findings

and policies concerning multiple topics concerning Japan’s population and economy. Part of the white paper focuses specifically on internal migration trends and rural/regional revitalization and repopulation (MLIT, 2014; Part 1 & Part.2, Ch.4) and presents the data on which government policy aimed at rural repopulation is mainly based. I argue that the 2014 white paper does contain multiple gaps in its findings, and is especially lacking in their data about motives of migration, which for one overlooks decisions to migrate based on dissatisfaction among migrants about their social situation in their place

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8 of departure. However, because of the usage of their data in the majority of policy in national, regional and local level it is important to understand what the findings of the MLIT are and where they match with or differ from my findings in Osakikamijima. The government data concerning motives of migration mainly consists of the findings of the 2014 public awareness survey which was an internet survey and gathered information from 3,000 respondents mainly by means of multiple choice and Likert scale questions (MLIT, 2014; pp 18). With these types of closed-ended questions people are likely to answer based on the choices offered even if there is an option to specify their choice if it is not among the ones listed (Krosnick, 1999; pp 543-545). Because of this it is possible many of their respondents who did not find their choice among the set options choose either their second option or ended up under the ‘other’ category in the public awareness survey’s data (MLIT, 2014; pp 33).

Throughout this thesis I argue that although many of the ideas about the idyll countryside as suggested by the MLIT are present with the majority of urban-rural migrants, their decision to migrate itself was not influenced directly by these ideas. Instead the majority of my respondents first decided to leave their former place of residence and only started considering possible destinations after this choice was made. Furthermore, the main reason for migration for many of my respondents was a recent change or growing dissatisfaction about their social situation and lives in their former place of residence. Leading them to search for a place to escape this negative setting, and making rural Japan only one of the possible destination in which they could get rid of the displeasing aspects of their previous situation. In addition, after migration, most of my respondents became very involved in making changes in their work and social lives trying to create a desired situation, which was not there on Osakikamijima before their arrival. Suggesting that the destination was not as important as the change of location and setting to be able to ‘make a fresh start’.

I support this argument by first describing the current national trends of and internal migration political change in Japan in Chapter one. In doing so, I attempt to emphasize the importance of

understanding current flows of migration in order to be able to counteract the issues concerning rural depopulation. Furthermore, I will address the neoliberal policies that have been embraced since the early 2000s and argue that will be unlikely to yield the desired result of full spread rural repopulation. And even though some local communities have managed to bring about a movement of urban-rural migration which outweighs the population decline, these communities were only able to do so at the cost of other communities. Therefore, even if more rural communities would follow the example of these successful cases, the effects of these currently ‘successful’ policies will diminish. Because it is

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9 unlikely that the wider spread of these types of policies will cause the growth in urban-rural migration strong enough to counteract rural decline on a national level. Instead, it is likely that a large number of rural communities implementing similar policies will cause a spread of urban-rural migrants, which will make the effects per community neglect able.

In chapter two the motives of migration of rural bound migrants will be discussed. By comparing national trends and general ideas about motives for migration to my findings on Osakikamijima I will show what the ideas about the countryside and other important drivers for rural bound migration are. In addition, I will argue that motives of migration and destination are not based on singular reasons but are shaped by the multiple ideas and circumstances related to the social and professional lives of these migrants. However, many of these ideas and circumstances are shared among migrants and are in part caused by both intentional as well as unintentional changes in Japanese society such as the effects of changes in labor structure, changes in gender roles and changes in interpersonal relations and the neoliberal policies of the Abe cabinet. I will support this argument by expanding on the changes of circumstances and ideas of one of my respondents, which will serve as a representation of my other respondents who have undergone similar processes. I argue that the final choice of destination is influenced by a balance of intervening obstacles and ideas about a specific destination. Furthermore, I argue that the desire of migrants to leave their urban lives and social settings may weigh heavier on their decision to migrate to a rural area than the desire to live in the countryside or in a specific rural community.

In chapter three I discuss two influential shapers of images and ideas of rural Japan, namely local stakeholders and the Japanese government. I will expand on how these actors are shaping ideas about the countryside as well as the motivations behind their activities. I argue that especially among local shapes of ideas about the countryside their imaging is highly personalized, and is not only promoting the countryside as a physical location but is actually closer to ‘lifestyle’ branding. In other words, local actors use romanticized versions of their lives in the countryside as an example of how urban-rural migration may improve a person’s quality of living. The different levels of government (national, regional and local) all focus on promoting the uniqueness of specific areas and communities and in doing so cause

competition between areas in the goal of attracting immigrants.

Chapter four will focus on the lives of urban-rural migrants in Osakikamijima and how their experience of life in the countryside compares to the expectations and ideas they possessed before migration. Furthermore, I will reflect on how this new flow of immigration and the actions of migrants

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10 are affecting and changing the community as a whole. Additionally, I explore the interaction between different groups of inhabitants of Osakikamijima and both the positive and negative aspects of being part of a rural community based on the experiences of my respondents.

Finally I will reflect on my findings including the limitations and gaps of the fieldwork. Even though there are considerable gaps in data and access, the findings presented in this paper can be of value when attempting to understand the deeper motives of urban-rural migration. Furthermore, I argue that the majority of current neoliberal policies are failing in their rural repopulation attempts due to the mismatch between the targets of policy and the potential group of migrants. Finally, I will

conclude by reflecting on my findings and main arguments and emphasize that even if internal urban-rural migration in Japan manages to reach its needed level to preserve the Japanese countryside it will not solve the larger issue of population decline and the aging of society as a whole; it can only be truly considered successful when combined with other major changes in national policy. One of the main changes that may be needed in national policy is a change in conditions set on foreign immigration, for this form of migration is still strongly limited by the Japanese government.

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Chapter 1. Migration Trends and National Policy

National population decline and rural depopulation

Since reaching its peak of just over 128 million people in 2010 the population of Japan has been declining, in addition over 25 percent of the current Japanese population is over sixty-five years old (World Databank, 2016). This makes Japan the first highly developed country not only facing the challenge of an aging population but also suffering from a decrease in its total population. One of the major reasons for this drop in population is the decreasing total fertility rate of Japan which has been around an average of 1.4 (births per woman in her lifetime) since 1995, which is considerably lower than the fertility rate of 2.1, needed to keep a population at a constant level (World Databank, 2016).

Furthermore, according to simulation by the Japanese Cabinet Office in 2013, the population of Japan is expected to drop to 87 million people in 2060 from its current population of 127 million if the fertility rate remains at its current level (Yoshida, 2016). In addition to these low fertility rates the net migration rate of Japan (the difference between the number of people entering or leaving a country per 1000 persons) was 0.00 in 2015 and has been close to this number in recent years (World Fact book, 2016). Although a net migration number of zero does not mean that there is no migration to Japan it shows that the total yearly population inflow is so close to the total population outflow that there are no significant changes in the total population as a result of migration. Therefore the current decrease in the population in Japan can be mainly contributed to the low fertility rate. And even though an increase in immigration to Japan or decrease in emigration from Japan may counteract the population decline caused by the low fertility rate, current flows of international migration do not significantly affect the number of residents in Japan.

In addition to the decrease of the total national population of Japan due to low fertility rates most Japanese prefectures experience even stronger population decline due to internal migration. In the period 2000 to 2014 only seven of the 47 Japanese prefectures had a constant positive net migration number and the majority of the prefectural growth due to internal migration was concentrated in Tokyo and its bordering prefectures (Statistical Survey Department Japan, 2015). However, this trend of mass migration towards Tokyo and other major urban areas can be traced back much further in time. In 1977 the national government of Japan already addressed this migration trend as a problem and tried to counteract it in their ‘Third Comprehensive National Development Plan’ which had “the reorganization

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12 aim (Kawabe, 1980; pp 191). However, even though the issues of population clustering, or the so-called

“High Density society” issue (Kawabe, 1980; pp 192), and the issue of an aging population and declining

birthrates has been recognized by the Japanese government for over 40 years, they have yet to be solved. Furthermore, the distribution of the population within the different prefectures of Japan is highly uneven with the majority of people living in urban areas. For example, of the 2.844.963 people living in the Hiroshima prefecture (in which Osakikamijima is located) in 2015, 2.535.553 persons or 89% of the prefectural population were living in the prefecture’s nine major cities and almost half of the remaining population living in minor urban areas (Statistics Bureau Japan, 2015). Similar levels of urbanization can be seen across Japan which has been rising by one percent on average over the past decades to a total of 93 percent of the population living in urban areas in 2015 (World Databank, 2016).

The economic and social impact of an aging population and depopulation can be severe. For one, with the increase of an elderly and retired population, the costs of elderly care and pensions will

increase. Furthermore, these costs have to be covered by a smaller percentage of the population as the ratio of retirees per working member of the population keeps increasing, which may not only lead to an increase in taxes but also in a decrease in pension rates and health care services (Bloom, et al, 2010). In addition, even though Japan has, for a long time,, relied heavily on (adult) children in the care of their aging parents, the increase of elderly without children, and the migration flows of especially rural born young adults to metropolitan areas makes this family based care increasingly difficult (Traphagan, 2006). Because of this trend of a high density society the places that suffer most from the declining birthrates and the greying of society are rural areas (MLIT, 2014). In many rural communities the majority of the population under thirty years of age moves away to cities. While a large portion of the migration

towards rural areas consists of people of- or close to the age of retirement (MLIT, 2014. pp 8). This leads to an even larger part of the population of rural areas which is elderly. Similar trends of age-specific migration flows can also be found outside of Japan. For example, in the period 1993-2003 the English countryside has seen a strong decline in its ratio of population between the ages between of 15 and 29 years old which was minus 12.5% in comparison to minus 5.9% in urban areas. Furthermore, in this period the percentage of people between the ages of 45-59 increased by 17.4 percent compared to 10.9 percent in urban England (Champion & Shepherd, 2006; pp 14-15). These changes in age ratio were traditionally caused by a so-called ‘rural flight’ or ‘rural exodus’ of mostly young adults who moved to urban areas. But in recent years this imbalance of age ratio has intensified due to a counter flow of urban-rural migration of retirees and the older segments of the working population (Champion & Shepherd, 2006; pp 2-7).

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13 Another effect of the declining population is the increase in abandoned and dilapidated houses, shops and infrastructure. The amount of long term vacant houses were estimated to be around 8 million in 2015 and are expected to rise to about one third of all housing in Japan in the next fifty years (Soble, 2015). In Osakikamijima this effect of population decline is also clearly visible as the island is filled with abandoned shops, houses and other facilities. The decline in population and decay of public space cause a growing downwards spiral leading to an even further decline in population. In figure 1 the continuing downward spiral caused by population decline is shown. As the population in an area goes down the conveniences and attractiveness of daily life in a declining area will decrease, which will lead to further population decline.

Figure 1. Downward spiral of population decline. Source: MLIT White paper on land, infrastructure, transport and tourism in Japan 2015; pp 22.

In Osakikamijima this effect of population decline and aging of the population can also be found. In the period 1995 to 2010 the population of Osakikamijima had declined from 10,854 inhabitants in 1995 to 8,448 in 2010. Furthermore, in 1995 31.8% of the total population was 65 years or older increasing to 42.8% of the population in 2010. The percentage of working residents in this period went down from 48.8% of the population in 1995 (5,301 people) to 42.8% in 2010 (3,615 people) decreasing almost evenly over all three sectors of economic activity (Osakikamijima Town Office, 2016). In the daily lives of the inhabitants of Osakikamijima, the effects of this decline can be seen in many ways. For example, two of the three high schools on the island have been closed down in 2006 and have stayed

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14 unused and empty ever since. In addition, the number of bus routes on the island has decreased,

making it more difficult to get around the island. This is especially inconvenient for the elderly as they are often no longer capable of driving a car and have to resort to going around either by foot or bicycle. Furthermore, because of the increase in empty houses and shops the streetscape is becoming an increasing eyesore and a growing safety hazard due to risk of collapse (Image 3 and 4).s

However, even though the population of Osakikamijima and Japan’s countryside at large is still declining, there has been an increase in urban to rural migration in recent years. In the following section I will address this growing trend by comparing the case of Osakikamijima compared to the national trend, as well as an ‘outstanding’ case of Ama Island, a rural community which has managed to fully counteract population decline and is even currently experiencing a significant growth in its population.

Image 3. Abandoned bowling alley in Osakikamijima.

Source: Picture by Author

Image 4. One of the many dilapidated houses in Osakikamijima.

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Rural Repopulation

The growing urban-rural flow of migration over the last decennia in Japan is a trend that can not only be seen in present day Japan but also in many other ‘developed’ countries in different periods (Stockdale, et al; 2000). In the 1970’s and 1980’s there was already substantial urban-rural movement in Great Britain. The flow of urban dwellers to the countryside in that period was largely caused due to the relocation of manufacturing industries which moved from the cities towards rural areas (Thrift, 1987). Following the factories many workers moved to suburban and rural areas in order to work, rather than following an actual desire for rural life. However, apart from this flow of migration of people from the working class, there has been a distinct group of migrants leaving urban areas in chase of a rural idyll (Thrift, 1987; pp 77-79). This group of migrants consisted mainly of people from the so called ‘service class’2. In contrast to those of the working class, this group had the means to choose their own living environment and dreamed of a life in the countryside due to the desire for a more slow paced and traditional life closer to nature. This desire for rural life among people living in urban areas has

continued to grow in many countries. As Lise Herslund (2010) shows in her study on the growing counter urbanization among well-educated urban dwellers in Denmark, this type migration is generally

motivated by a desire for an idealized countryside. For these Danish urban-rural migrants the countryside represents a place where they can live a more flexible life which offered more freedom, attractive housing and a desirable rural/natural environment (Herslund, 2011; pp 241-242).

Similarly, the flow of urban-rural migration in Japan has been growing at a steady pace, due to similar ideas about rural life. Furthermore, a number of rural communities has even been able to fully counteract their population decline and are now experiencing a rapid increase in population. One example of seemingly successful rural repopulation is Ama Island in the Shimane prefecture. In 2004, like the majority of rural communities of Japan, Ama suffered heavily from the effects of an aging and declining population which set the town, of -at the time- not even 2,000 citizens, on a trajectory of full depopulation (Shigeki, 2015). However, seeing their impending doom the local government of Ama took action and managed to turn the tide. By cutting the salaries of all local government employees the town managed to attain a budget which they used to revitalize their community. Ama’s town office used this newly obtained money to attract new inhabitants to the island by offering them multiple benefits if they decided to migrate to Ama. These benefits consist of a monthly stipend to help improve and develop new products and attractions with the island resources and free housing during a period of a few years

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16 which was dubbed as a ‘training period’. After this training period has finished the trainees are free to do whatever they want and may even leave the island without being held back by expectations and requirements which have to be met in order to be entitled to receive benefits. In other words, migrants coming to the island are paid, housed and trained during a short period and are not required to provide any results when they are done. This lack of restrictions and requirements that need to be met in order to receive benefits are the main thing which set Ama apart from others. All over Japan there are many rural communities which over potential migrants multiple (often generous) benefits and stipends if they decide to move to their community. However, in most cases these migrants are expected to stay in the community in order to gain these benefits and will need to repay the community if they decide to leave (Shigeki, 2015). This requirement to commit for immigrants is what has led to the failure of the majority of these local policies, as many potential migrants found the demands too strict. The repopulation of Ama Island combined with the ‘training’ of immigrants that is aimed at the promotion of the island and the revitalization of the local economy by means of commodifying local products(Rausch, 2008), are the other main reason why Ama is considered such a success. Local products such as Oki Beef and Ama seafood are just two examples of local products which have become of increasing demand all over Japan. And, by expanding their market and the creation and promotion of multiple local products, Ama has been able to create more work opportunities and improve their financial situation. This to such extend that Ama has even be recognized as an example of success by Japanese prime-minister Shinzo Abe during his policy speech on the 187th Session of the National Diet.3

However, it is uncertain if the policy of Ama’s local government will stay successful over a longer period of time. For one, the attracted migrants may decide to leave as they have no obligations to stay after their training period has finished and benefits stop. In addition, by providing benefits for new immigrants but not for the native community a financial divide is created which may lead to inequality and conflict within the community. Furthermore, the short term financial strains on the local

government are increased by these policies which even resulted in pay cuts for government employees. And although the local town hopes to be able to support these policies by the increased income from local products they have yet to yield enough profit to remove the financial strains of the local

government and its employees. In addition, even if the policies of Ama prove to be successful in the long run, they will be just that, successful for Ama. Because the approach used by the government of Ama Island revolves around setting itself apart from other rural communities it attracts immigrants

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17 instead of other rural communities. If many or all Japanese rural communities would follow the same path of benefits without restrictions for immigrants combined with the promotion of local products it will be very unlikely that this would lead to a massive increase in urban-rural migration but would more likely lead to a spread of migrants who otherwise would cluster in the single place offering these conditions. Furthermore, unlike the migrants discusses in the Danish case the main reason for the migrants to move to Ama island are the financial reimbursements without any long term obligations and

not because of a desire to live in a rural area itself. This lead to a different group of migrants, generally

those with less initial financial means, which are similar to regular labor migrants, and if the financial supports stops and they have not managed to start a well earning business it is very likely they will leave in pursue of other work opportunities.

Within my fieldwork in Osakikamijima I have focused mainly on the type of urban-rural migrant which did not move because of work or reimbursements but instead because of a desire to leave urban life. Similarly to the Danish migrants described by Herslund (2010) this group possessed the ability and means to choose their own destination and was not limited by work/financial opportunities. In the case of Osakikamijima the local government does not offer any special benefits or stipends for new

immigrants. Although there are subsidies and training opportunities made available for people who which to start or expand agricultural activities these benefits are not limited to new inhabits, but are available for the whole population. When asked why the Osakikamijima town office does not offer any special benefits for migrants, a member of the local planning division stated that they decided not to because it would create an unequal situation in the community and would not be fair for people who already lived on the island. The town office employee suggested that although these kind of policies may attract new people they would also cause envy among locals and that is was most important for a town to think of its own citizens before attending to other matters. Although it can be debated that the attraction of new people will be beneficial for the community as a whole because of the increase in economic activity and stop to depopulation, it is clear that the Osakikamijima government does not consider these types of policies suitable and effective over a longer period of time. Later in this thesis I will further expand on the actions and policies of different scales of government in Japan, however for now it is important to note that even though Osakikamijima does not offer any special benefits to new residents the number of I/J-turners on the island has been growing in recent years. And although in part the urban-rural migration flow still consists of temporary work migrants an increasing number of ‘free choice’ migrants can be seen.

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18 Going back to the national migration trends in Japan, there is an increase in interest in living in the countryside and living a ‘slower’ life close to nature which already has resulted in a growing flow of urban-rural migration. Although in total numbers the majority of rural communities still show a greater number of people leaving than people coming, many rural regions have seen an increase in immigration in recent years (Statistics Bureau Japan, 20152). Furthermore, this increase in urban-rural migration on a

national level is not solely caused by special cases such as Ama Island but can also be seen in many ‘ordinary’ rural communities like Osakikamijima. In chapter two the motivations of these migrants will be further explored and by doing so, I will show how the complexity of motives of migration and choice of destination are often more than just financial incentives or a longing for nature.

Neoliberal Change and Abenomics

After the burst of the Japanese economic bubble in the 1990s Japans national government felt that the long embraced centralized government structure and collectivist culture was no longer a viable option in order to keep Japans economy stable and growing. This, resulting in the adoption of new economic policies focused on state decentralization, deregulation and a market led economy since the early 2000s (Tsukamoto, 2012). These changes in Japans policies are often compared to earlier neoliberal reforms in Western Europe and involved the following topics:

 ‘Free’ market policies with limited involvement of, and restrictions by, the national government.

 Cutting expenditure for social services, such as health care, education and the maintenance of public infrastructure.

 Reduction of government regulation in general.

 Privatization of state owned enterprises , goods and services

 Increased focus on the individual and individual responsibilities instead of on community and ‘public good’.

(Martinez & Garcia, 1997; Tsukamoto, 2012) However the effects of these changes in policy have failed to wield the desired results and Japan’s economic decline and low birth rates have continued over this period (Yoshino & Taghizadeh, 20141). Furthermore, critics of these types of neoliberal reforms claim that they lead to an uneven

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19 distribution of ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ where the success of the winners is at the cost of losers (Martinez & Garcia, 1997; Harvey, 2007).

Since the reinstatement of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2012 the issues of economic decline, the aging population and declining birthrates have been addressed further under the so-called ‘three arrows of Abenomics’4 which refers to three main fields of reforms under the current Abe cabinet. The focus of these three ‘arrows’ are fiscal consolidation, ‘aggressive’ monetary policy and economic growth strategy (Yoshino & Taghizadeh, 20142; Fukuda, 2015) which are built around the previously

mentioned neoliberal ideas and if successful should lead to the revitalization of Japan’s economy. Services, enterprises and goods run by the Japanese national government are being increasingly privatized or spread to local and regional governments without national guidelines (Fukuda, 2015), and in doing so place an increased responsibility with local governments and individuals (Tsukamoto, 2012; Fukuda, 2015). Although on the short term Abenomics seem to wield results for economic revitalization on a national level (Fukuda, 2015) the long term results are still uncertain (Sharma, 2014). Furthermore, as a lot of responsibility is placed on local regions and communities it is very likely that current policy will result in winning and losing regions within Japan. For example, as I will further explore in chapter three, one of the main points of Abenomics is the commodification of rural areas as a means to revitalize local communities, however this approach leads to competition between communities, and create winners and losers, instead of solving the issue of Japan’s rural decline as a whole (Rausch, 2008).

Furthermore, individuals are also pushed toward placing an increased focus on their own goals and needs above those of the community (Beck, 1994). This, in the case of my respondents in Osakikamijima drove them to search out circumstances which fit their desires and needs by leaving their former place of residence.

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Chapter 2. Motives of migration and destination

Attraction of the countryside as a destination

In the 2014 public awareness survey, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan asked what people considered the major attractions of residing in a rural area. The MLIT posed a total of twenty statements of which respondents could pick up to five statements about the countryside that they considered a major attraction (MLIT, 2014. pp 41). The result of this survey showed that the top five of attractions the current place of residence of I-turn and J-turn migrants were (in descending order of most often mentioned):

 The attractiveness of the natural environment  Rural, but not too far from a metropolitan area  Low risk of natural disasters

 Rural, but good medical facilities  Living costs are lower

In comparison the results of people with a desire to migrate to a rural area but still living in an urban area their desired rural area offered:

 The attractiveness of the natural environment  Rural, but not too far from a metropolitan area  Living costs are lower

 Attractive climate (warm, cool, snow, etc.)  Can live in a larger residences

(Findings of the Japanese Public Awareness Survey 2014 –MLIT) The results show that in both groups the attractiveness of natural environment, closeness to a

metropolitan area and the lower cost of living are most often considered a major attraction of rural areas. The high importance placed on the low risk of natural disasters by I/J turners can be partly contributed to the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku tsunami and earthquake which is still fresh in the memory of most Japanese. Furthermore, the availability of good medical facilities is strongly related the large number of retired urban-rural migrants (MLIT, 2014) for whom medical care is generally more important than for younger migrants. When comparing these findings with what is considered ‘attractive’ in other countries (Herslund, 2011) and the attractions of Osakikamijima many similarities

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21 can be found. For one, all respondents said the presence of an attractive natural environment and natural scenes was one of the main attractions of living on the island. Secondly, the lower costs of living were also mentioned as a major plus by many migrants. However, this was for none of my respondents related to a desire to gain more wealth but rather to be able to work less and have more time to pursue other interests and activities. The geographical location of Osakikamijima was also considered an

advantage by many of my respondents. Although only one respondent stated outright that his choice for Osakikamijima in part was motivated by its location, many respondents said that the travel time to Hiroshima city (about an hour and a half) and the travel time to Hiroshima airport (one hour) were aspects of their place of residence which they highly appreciated. None of my respondents mentioned the importance of medical facilities in their choice of destination; however, this may be because all but one of my I-turn respondents were younger than 65 and the majority even below the age of 50, and the demand of medical care generally rises when people become older (Newhouse, 1992). This lack of elderly respondents is a serious gap in my findings, as the employee of the Osakikamijima town office stated that retirees were a large portion of the urban-rural migrants coming to the island. The reasons for this gap in respondents as well as other limitations are described further in this paper. For now, awareness of this limitation and the focus on respondents who were part of the age group of Japan’s possible working population (officially form the age of 15 to the age of 65) should suffice.

The lack of risk of natural disasters was also mentioned by many of my respondents. Although for none of my respondents this was a deciding condition in their choice of location, the lack of extreme weather conditions was seen as a nice perk. However, although Osakikamijima has a very low risk of tsunamis, (heavy) earthquakes and typhoons, changes in the weather often causes inconveniences. For example, during my period of fieldwork the ferry services from and to the island had to be closed down on multiple occasions due to excessive fog or high waves, sometimes for multiple days. However, even though these natural occurrences can heavily limit daily activities, Osakikamijima is still considered to be located in a relatively stable area compared to the Japan as a whole (OCHA, 2007). The attractiveness of the local climate as an attraction of life in Osakikamijima was highly dependent on the place of origin of my respondents. While those who migrated from Tokyo generally enjoyed the more temperate climate of Osakikamijima those from other areas such as Kansai did not experience much difference while others missed the more extreme weather conditions of other areas. For example, one U-turn migrant who had lived in Sapporo for more than 10 years missed the opportunity to go skiing in winter more than he appreciated the lack of extreme low temperatures.

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22 Although the presence of an attractive natural environment and lower costs of living as well as other conditions featured in the public awareness survey (2014) were considered positive aspects about life in Osakikamijima by the majority of my respondents, these were not the reasons they gave for their specific choice of moving to Osakikamijima. In addition, as mentioned previously the national survey was conducted as a quantitative internet survey with closed-ended questions and offered no in depth

research in the lives and circumstances of its respondents. In contrast, during my fieldwork I spent three months conducting a case study of voluntary urban-rural migrants in Osakikamijima, and met and followed many of my respondents on multiple occasions in order to gain an insight in their lives, experiences and deeper motives behind their choice to migrate. Furthermore, according to the MLIT, the ‘reasons for living in current location’ of about 31% of I/J-turn migrants was because of the opportunity to do a specific job (MLIT, 2014. pp 40), while among the 19 I/J-turn respondents I spoke only one person came to Osakikamijima because of work opportunities. However, it is possible that this difference in types of reasons was likely caused by my lack of access to temporary factory workers who came to the island solely because of work opportunities. This assumption is confirmed by my

respondent at the Osakikamijima town office who said about the majority of employees of the local power plant:

“These people get here through “Hello Work”5_{; the town office can’t find work for people there. It is a} different job. They only work here for only 2 or 3 years so they just live in the dorms and don’t buy any houses.”

This group of I-turn migrants is very similar to the previously discussed working class migration in Great Britain in the 70s and 80s as described by Thrift (1987). And, although the inability to gain access to this specific group of I/J-turn migrants is a gap in information, this group does not fully fit the description of I/J-turners who move to the countryside because of a desire for rural life. Instead financial needs and work opportunities are the major drivers for their migration which is, as stated by the town office employee, in general only temporary. Thus, unlike the voluntary migrants in Osakikamijima on which I focused during fieldwork, which similarly to the previously mentioned Danish migrants in the study of Herslund (2012) could make a choice in their destination, this group only migrated to the island because of the availability of a job and had no choice to migrate in order to be able to work. And although urban-rural work migration may prove to be a driving actor in short term rural repopulation, as they do add to the total population of Osakikamijima, it is unlikely that they will solve the issues of rural

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23 decline itself. For one, according to my respondents these factory workers generally worked long hours for 5 or 6 days a week, which makes it difficult for them to participate in community events or meet people outside of their work. This showed itself during my fieldwork as the only place and time where I would run into the labor migrants was in the evening at the supermarket where they went to buy their instant or pre-made dinners (their dorm rooms did not include a kitchen). Furthermore on their days of many of these workers left the island in order to see their families and friends living elsewhere. Because of these demanding work conditions and limited free time they are not able to contribute to and integrate in the community even if they wished to do so. However, even though they might not have many possibilities to contribute to the community due to their circumstances many locals still hold this against them. Most of the people I spoke to during fieldwork, both locals and I/J-turners did not consider these labor migrants as an actual part of the community or even immigrants but rather just as people who just happened to work in a factory which happened to be on the island. Furthermore, none of the people I spoke to during my fieldwork had any social connection to the temporary factory

workers. As one of my respondents noted, the only places these temporary workers seemed to frequent apart from their dorms and workplace were the supermarket near their dorm, the pachinko parlors. In none of the local events or gathering I was able to meet any factory workers and although this does not necessarily means they did not participate in this, combined with the lack of social connections to any of my respondents, suggests not only a lack of integration within the community but also social separation and possible even social exclusion as none of the islanders I spoke seemed to be willing to or even interested in more interaction with this group. Thus, even though these labor migrants are present in Osakikamijima they generally not considered part of the community. Therefore, being aware of the absence of this specific group of migrants in my findings I would consider the majority of my

respondents a representation of people who migrated for of non-work opportunity related reasons. Following the 31% of urban rural migrants who migrated because of work the second largest category reason was specified as ‘Others’.

About 19% of both current I/J turners as well as the largest group (about 18.5%) of people with a desire to migrate to a rural area selected ‘Other’ as their reason, or desire for living in a rural area (MLIT, 2014). The different reasons for that were specified by the MLIT overlap with the previously mentioned attractions of life in the countryside and include the top rated attractions of both current urban-rural migrants as well as those with a desire to migrate. It is noteworthy that none of the major attractions of life in the countryside mentioned by the respondents of the Public Opinion Survey were actually the main reason for their (desired) migration to rural areas. Although a category like ‘Other’ can

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24 contain many different reasons for migration I will explore this category by looking into the major reasons for migration which fall outside the specified categories of the MLIT survey.

The approach of the MLIT survey about reasons for migration shows strong similarities with the ‘push and pull’ theory proposed by Everett S. Lee (1966). According to Lee there are four main factors which enter into the decision to migrate; factors associated with the place of origin, factors associated with the destination, ‘intervening obstacles’ and personal factors (Lee, 1966; pp. 49-51). Figure 2 shows the chart in which Lee visualizes the first three factors which may lead to a decision to migrate.

Figure 2. Lee's model of migration . Source: Lee (1966) A Theory of Migration; pp 50.

Lee (1966) suggests a decision to migrate is based upon calculating the positive and negative aspects of the place of origin (+’s and –‘s) and those of the considered destination. In addition, between the origin and destination Lee places a number of possible intervening obstacles which would have to be tackled in order to be able to migrate. These obstacles can be obstacles like immigration laws at the place of destination or costs of relocating and are generally experienced differently between individuals (Lee, 1966; pp 51). For example high skilled migrants may be easier accepted at a destination than low skilled migrants and migration cost are likely to be a bigger issue for poor migrants than wealthier ones. Lee suggests that for a person to migrate the positive factors at the destination must outweigh those at the place of origin combined with the obstacles of migration in order for migration to happen. However, the value of each positive and negative factor may diver from person to person. This variety in value is

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25 also visible in the results of the MLIT public awareness survey where for some the main reason of migration was work while others placed more value on living environment or lower costs of living (MLIT, 2014; pp 33). Furthermore, Lee suggests that the balance between push factors (negative aspects of place of origin) and pull factors (positive aspects of destination) can vary heavily between people, meaning that for some migrants negative aspects of their place of origin were most influential in their decision to migrate while other where mostly influenced by the positive aspects of their destination (Lee, 1966; pp 51-52). Following this push and pull model proposed by Lee, the majority of my respondents in Osakikamijima were mostly influenced by negative push factors of their place of origin and not much by positive pull factors of Osakikamijima itself. Furthermore, the decision to migrate of the majority of my respondents was not related to a balance between their origin and destination but solely based on a negative experience of their origin. First they decided they wanted to leave their former place of residence, and only after deciding to migrate they started to look into possible destination of migration. Therefore based on my findings I propose a variation on Lee’s model as shown in figure 3.

Figure 3. Push based migration model. Source: Adaptation by Author of the model from Lee (1966) A Theory of Migration

As shown, the dominance of negative factors at the place of origin first leads to a decision to migrate away from ones place of origin and only when this decision to leave is made the obstacles and

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26 balance of negative and positive factors at possible destinations become important for the choice of destination. Although ideas and attractions of other locations than a person’s place of origin are likely to be present with most people, even with those who do not decide to migrate the choice of one of these as a new place of residence is not always clear from the moment the choice to move away from a certain location is made. In the case of my respondent in Osakikamijima many of them did not even know about the existence of the island before they had decided to leave their former place of residence and only got to know about Osakikamijima when they started exploring possible destinations.

Furthermore, although many respondents considered the general countryside as a possible destination they often also considered other general types of destination such as going abroad or move to a different city. Their final choice of destination was Osakikamijima due to a more positive sum of positive/negative factors and intervening obstacles compared to other possible destination. However, there were no initial pull factors of Osakikamijima which led to the decision to migrate. Thus the choice to migrate originated from a desire to leave due to dissatisfaction about a place of residence first and afterwards resulted to a choice for a destination which may lack what causes dissatisfaction, or offer what was missing in the place of origin second.

Although this variation of Lee’s (1966) model is not applicable for all types of migration and there are many cases in which the ‘pull’ of a destination may be influential, I argue that for many of my respondents the desire to leave their former (or current) place of residence played a dominant role in their decision to migrate. And the desire to live in Osakikamijima or in the Japanese countryside in general only came after this decision was made. However, long working hours, high living expenses, lack of nature and stress caused by living in Japan’s urban areas in general are reoccurring issues mentioned by most of the respondents, and the opposites of these issues are generally considered as part of rural appeal. Therefore, even though most of my respondents did not have a clear destination in mind they may have been influenced by general ideas of the rural areas and rural life which could be considered ‘pull’ factors of a destination, if the countryside in general is considered as a destination.

However, for many of my respondents the major deciding factors which motivated them to migrate were social issues resulting from societal change and affecting their personal lives rather than financial issues or dissatisfaction with the physical environment. And this ‘push’ of their former place of residence would likely have let them to move away even if they had to settle for a destination that did not provide any significant more positive aspects apart from the absence of their social issue. The specific nature of the social issues my respondents faced were highly diverse ranging from relationship

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27 issues and lack of — or dissatisfaction about — their social connections and peers, to feelings of

displacement and loneliness in their professional environment. Many of these issues can be contributed to the ongoing societal changes and challenges currently undergone by Japanese society as a whole.

Individualization of Japan

Japanese societal structure is one that traditionally is often associated with collectivism, or in other words a structure which places more emphasis on groups instead of on the individual (Suzuki, et al; 2010). And although the idea of the Japanese as more collectivistic than, for instance, Americans has become a subject of debate in recent years (Takano & Osaka, 1999), the idea of the Japanese as ‘traditionally’ collectivistic, especially compared to people in the West, is one that did not only gain a strong hold among people in the West but also among Japanese people themselves (Suzuki, et al. 2010; pp. 516). However, despite the actual degree of former collectivist tendencies within Japanese society it is generally understood that since the late 1990s Japanese society has become more and more

individualistic (Ishida, et al. 2010; Suzuki, et al. 2010) in large due to the continuing economic depression that started in the late 1980s and the following neoliberal reforms since the early 2000s (Tsukamoto, 2012). This process of individualization is described by Ulrich Beck (1994) as: “collective and

group-specific sources of meaning (such as class consciousness or faith in progress) in industrial society culture are suffering from exhaustion, break-up and disenchantment. These had supported western democracies and economic societies well into the twentieth century and their loss leads to the imposition of all definition effort upon the individuals (Beck, 1994; pp 191).” In other words, Beck (1994) suggests that

people are losing their ties and feelings of belonging to a group who work together and support each other in their pursue of a shared goal which will benefit the group as a whole and instead are reduced to their own goals which will only be reached by their own efforts. Furthermore these changes go hand in hand with the modernization of society, and although Beck focusses on western societies these changes are also strongly present in Japan where responsibilities and risks are increasingly placed upon the individual instead of the collective.

However, although the effects of the economic depression and the previously mentioned neoliberal reforms which led to an increased focus on the individual are often posed in a negative way, (Martinez & Garcia, 1997) there are also positive aspects such as the emancipation effect on women (Suzuki, et al. 2010). The traditional Japanese family consists of a male led household with a husband, wife and children (Ishida, et. al; 2010; pp. 218), the role of women was to take care of the household

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28 and to raise children while men were the sole breadwinner (Rindfuss, et al; 2004). However due to the liberating effects of individualization it is becoming more common to move away from this conventional family structure and escape from traditional gender roles (Ishida, et. all; 2010; pp. 218-220).This, shows itself in Japan for example in an increase in working and single women but also in the rise of share-housing and other types of household arrangements (Ronald & Nakano, 2013). In general, people in Japan are increasingly choosing for themselves instead of what other may expect from them (Ishida, et al; 2010) and demand control of their own money, time, living space, body and sexuality instead of subjugating them to the collective (Becks, 1994; pp 192).

In contrast, the increase of individualization also has an effect of deprivation on individuals. For one, due to the increased value that is placed upon control one’s own life and circumstances (Becks, 1994; pp 192) relationships and ties between individuals have weakened. For example Ishida, et al. (2010) suggests that current modern marital relationships are not as secure as conventional marriage ties were in the past, which increases the risk of marriages to fall apart (Ishida, et al; 2010; pp 219). Furthermore, in all sorts of relationships, such as, marriage, friendships and boss-subordinate

relationships there may be increased anxiety and fear of failure due to casual and superficial nature of these bonds.

These effects and symptoms of an individualizing society are also clearly visible among my respondents. For instance, only 8 of my 22 migrant respondents were married and two of these were married but lived separately from their spouses and hardly ever met, living their lives for all but in name in as singles. Furthermore among my married respondents only two had children and those without had no plans of getting children. Two of my respondents had a divorce and 12 had never been married even though the majority of them were middle-aged. Furthermore, as mentioned previously, issues with, and dissatisfaction about the social connections of my respondents were for many the main cause of

migration, making the phenomena of individualization in Japan and the both the liberating as well as the effects of deprivation of key importance in understanding the motives of migration of my respondents in Osakikamijima. Many of the effects and symptoms of societal change and the shift to individualism in Japan can be seen in the life stories of all of my respondents, for example I will describe the story of Ms. Mori.

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The story of Ms. Mori

Ms. Mori is a 38 year old woman who moved from Tokyo to Osakikamijima in 2010 after getting a divorce. Before moving to the island she had been working as a police officer for 10 years and during this time got to know her ex-husband who was part of the same department. Even before her marriage, which only lasted for three years, Ms. Mori said that she already decided to quit her job at the police department at the 10 year mark. This choice was not because of a desire to start a family, which as mentioned previously traditionally was (and for many still is) the point when women are expected to quit working and start taking care of the household (Rindfuss, et al; 2004), but mainly because she had been struggling with the traditional structure within the police force. The traditional and hierarchical structure of seniority within the Tokyo police force, which according to Ms. Mori follows an age based seniority system that heavily favors male employees, was something she could and would not adapt to. Therefore she decided that after 10 years of working and saving money she would quit her job and pursue other interests.

Around her 6th year at the police, a colleague of Ms. Mori asked to start dating and about a year later they got married. Looking back Ms. Mori described her relation with her ex-husband very

pragmatic. Before Ms. Mori’s ex-husband had approached her to start dating she said to have never considered him in a romantic way. But after giving it some though she decided that he was a nice enough guy and as she had reached her late 20s it might not be such a bad idea to start thinking about having a family. However, soon after getting married Ms. Mori already started to think that it would not work out. She found that her ex-husband conformed too much to the traditional system at work and in Japan in general. Although she said her ex-husband had never asked her to stop working even if they would have a child (which they did not) he did not oppose the preferable treatment of males and single women compared to married ones, such as the difference in likeliness to gain a promotion. Instead he found this type of differences in opportunities acceptable, and felt that as it is still the norm that a woman quits work after marriage and by continuing to Ms. Mori should not expect differently (a ‘ it is what it is’ approach). In addition, Ms. Mori said that she felt her ex-husband was the ‘woman’ in the relationship while she fulfilled the ‘male role’. By this she meant that when they were married her husband wanted to talk about every little thing while she would prefer to do things instead of keep talking about them. Although this is a rather simple approach to gender roles Ms. Mori very strongly identified herself as masculine and independent compared to other women. Even though Ms. Mori did not go into specific details of why her marriage had ended, she made clear that the difference in personality and approach to life between her and her ex-husband played a major role.

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30 After her divorce Ms. Mori quit her job partly because that was her original plan and partly because she did not wish to continue working at the same place as her ex-husband and she decided to leave Tokyo. Initially Ms. Mori decided to go to Europe or the United States after deciding to leave Tokyo, however due to the inability to find work abroad she instead moved to the countryside of Japan. Here, the intervening obstacles (Lee, 1966) between her place of origin and her destination (as she was not able to find work because she could not find any job which would provide her with a work visa) proved too big to actually migrate. However, as I argued previously the decision for migration was already made leading Ms. Mori to choose a different destination which was possible, instead of a decision not to migrate, making the destination of migration subservient to the choice of migration instead of a deciding factor. The choice for Osakikamijima was made because one of her high school acquaintances (Ms. Mori made it clear her contact on the island was not a friend) had relocated to the island some years before. Due to the presence of her acquaintance many practical issues could be easily addressed which decreased the influence of these intervening obstacles, making these practicalities the main reason for her choice of Osakikamijima over other destinations. However, the choice for the countryside over urban area in Japan was also because of the lower costs of housing and living. For instance, in Osakikamijima she was able to buy a 220m3 house for just over three million Yen (roughly 25.000 Euro) which despite being old still was in good living condition and cost almost ten times less than a house one forth the size in central Tokyo (Ronald, 2013). Because of this lower cost of living Ms. Mori was able to cover her daily expenses without the need of fulltime employment and therefore could pursue other interests.

For example, after arriving in Osakikamijima, Ms. Mori started a lunch café. At the time there were no other lunch cafés on the island, which made Ms. Mori think it would be a good business opportunity as well as a way to meet new people. Although the café had closed down in the summer of 2015 seemingly due to a combination of the inability to make a profit as well as the unwillingness of Ms. Mori to commit to another 3 year lease contract, it is still seen as an important accomplishment by both herself and her peers. Furthermore, the unwillingness to commit, even to a lease contract of only three years links back to the previously discussed issues of difference in policies between Ama island and other rural communities. Even though this commitment is not linked to government support and policy Ms. Mori shows that she does not want to commit to something that will force her to undertake the same work for a set period of time and to the island itself because such a commitment will limit her possibilities in pursuing other interests, such a still lingering desire to travel in Europe and engaging in other activities. After closing down the café Ms. Mori started focusing on the renovation of an old

Motives of migration : I/J-turn migration in Osakikamijima