「楽園」を求めて : 日本人の国際引退移動
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概要
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Based on existing studies of migration focused on Japan, retirement migration (particularly, international retirement migration) has thus far been regarded as nonexistent. The purpose of this paper is thus to find cases of international retirement migration (IRM hereafter) from Japan and to examine their destination choice and migration characteristics. Findings obtained from a magazine-headed investigation, questionnaire survey and in-depth interview are summarized as follows. Factors such as an amenity-rich environment, a low cost of living, a satisfying new social life, related information collection, links to potential destination and family type are found to be important for the destination choice. With respect to migration characteristics, whereas on average it takes about 2.5 years from decision-making of IRM to fulfillment, the migrants period-of-duration at the destination is relatively short and most contemplate a final return to Japan.Furthermore, since our investigation was greatly influenced by their study on British retirement migration to the Mediterranean, our findings are compared to the well-known research of R. King, T. Warnes, A. Williams and V. Rodríguez. However, it should be noted that this comparison is tentative because our research is based on a much smaller sample size (only 31 respondents for the questionnaire survey and 14 respondents for the interview).Most respondents of both studies were in their sixties and held white-collar occupations before retirement. Japanese migrants, however, were more educated, on the whole, than their British counterparts. With regard to important factors for destination choice, an amenity-rich environment was common to the respondents of both countries. However, Japanese migrants were more sensitive to economic factors such as low living cost and were less sensitive to visiting experience at possible destinations as tourists. Additionally, they tended, to have a diverse link with them before migrating. In respect of migration characteristics, Japanese migrants remained at the destinations for shorter periods than their British counterparts, implying that the former assumed a seasonal movement due to a relatively frequent return to Japan.Incidentally, IRM is a category of international migration about which migrants feel a great relief after retiring and dream of a full life at a foreign destination. Such migration should be a search for paradise that fits the retirees new life. However, the narratives of the respondents referred to in this paper suggest that contemporary Japanese society has not been a paradise for retirees. This is because Japanese society is now filled with economic anxiety, social obligations such as attending ceremonial occasions, as well as feelings of a lack of purpose in life. We have to recognize this ambivalence in the Japanese IRM; these features function to urge IRM from Japan, yet they also restrain its occurrence.
- 人文地理学会の論文