Monthly Archives: October 2020

The center moves to the periphery: Urban-rural migrants and rural revitalization in Kyūshū

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Subproject 2 – PhD 2

The second subproject is conceptualized as an ethnographic study in two municipalities that will be selected during exploratory fieldwork in Kyūshū that focuses on the life worlds and everyday practices of newcomers and return migrants in rural Japan. The doctoral researcher will study urban-rural migration in Japan from the perspective of newcomers’ and return migrants’ experiences, everyday practices and local structures. This includes the analysis of social dynamics in these communities between newcomers and ‘natives’, among newcomers and between local governments, residents and other local organizations involved in rural revitalization activities. It should further explore how newcomers participate in existing community organizations like neighborhood associations and village assemblies. The doctoral researcher will investigate how these institutions and the community itself (have) change(d) against the backdrop of demographic change and the influx of newcomers and return migrants and how in-migrants contribute to the respective communities and rural revitalization.

The periphery and the center : Support schemes for urban-rural migration and their local appropriation

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Subproject 1 – PhD 1

This project will explore the dynamics of rural-urban and central-local relations in Japan by fo-cusing on the Japanese central government’s policies and support schemes for urban-rural migra-tion and for rural revitalization, their conjunction, underlying ideas and objectives. The doctoral researcher will analyze local actors’ dependencies on resources from the center, and their agency in exercising greater independence. The researcher will compare similarities and differences across four municipalities in Kyūshū with regard to their appropriation of central government programs and attracting in-migrants. This includes a comparison of strategies used by municipalities and prefectures to showcase themselves to urbanites in order to convince them to relocate.

Research Project

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“Urban-rural migration and rural revitalization in Japan”

Project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)

Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Cornelia Reiher, Freie Universität Berlin

Urban-rural migration is not unique to Japan. What is particular about Japan, are the programs and subsidies initiated by different stakeholders to attract people to move (back) to rural Japan and in turn to revitalize local economies and agriculture. We will compare 1) how municipalities of similar size in different prefectures in Kyūshū appropriate central government’s programs and 2) how these programs impact on inmigration, inmigrants’ experiences and local rural revitalization practices in the respective municipalities. In order to understand the different trajectories of urban-rural migration, we will also compare 3) different types of urban-rural migration according to their initiation by different actors. In a nutshell, this project will shed light on how mobilities contribute to reconfigurations of rural spaces in Japan.