{"title":"The gap between administration and migrants: Terminologies and experiences of urban-rural migration in Japan","authors":"Cecilia Luzi","doi":"10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103500","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper analyzes the discourse on urban-rural migration within contemporary Japan's administrative landscape, its representation in academic literature, along with local governments' support measures for urban-rural migrants and their experiences. I seek to unveil the consequences of imprecise definitions and ambiguous classifications of urban-rural migration, which can foster misunderstandings of the phenomenon, influencing both individual self-representation and support schemes. Drawing on ethnographic data collected over two years both online and onsite in two municipalities in northern Kyūshū, this article shows how the UIJ-turn classification and the ijū/teijū (migration/settlement) distinction are employed in Japanese political- administrative discourse and how this affects migrants' experiences. I investigate how administration and migrants conceptualize urban-rural migration differently. The discussion reveals a disconnect between the administrative narrative, which heavily relies on rigid classification terminology, and migrants' actual experiences, emphasizing the implications for support schemes, migrants' self-perception, and their integration into rural communities. This underscores the necessity to acknowledge changes in the rural population for a more comprehensive understanding of the future of rural communities in the Global North.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17002,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rural Studies","volume":"113 ","pages":"Article 103500"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Rural Studies","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0743016724003048","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"GEOGRAPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This paper analyzes the discourse on urban-rural migration within contemporary Japan's administrative landscape, its representation in academic literature, along with local governments' support measures for urban-rural migrants and their experiences. I seek to unveil the consequences of imprecise definitions and ambiguous classifications of urban-rural migration, which can foster misunderstandings of the phenomenon, influencing both individual self-representation and support schemes. Drawing on ethnographic data collected over two years both online and onsite in two municipalities in northern Kyūshū, this article shows how the UIJ-turn classification and the ijū/teijū (migration/settlement) distinction are employed in Japanese political- administrative discourse and how this affects migrants' experiences. I investigate how administration and migrants conceptualize urban-rural migration differently. The discussion reveals a disconnect between the administrative narrative, which heavily relies on rigid classification terminology, and migrants' actual experiences, emphasizing the implications for support schemes, migrants' self-perception, and their integration into rural communities. This underscores the necessity to acknowledge changes in the rural population for a more comprehensive understanding of the future of rural communities in the Global North.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Rural Studies publishes research articles relating to such rural issues as society, demography, housing, employment, transport, services, land-use, recreation, agriculture and conservation. The focus is on those areas encompassing extensive land-use, with small-scale and diffuse settlement patterns and communities linked into the surrounding landscape and milieux. Particular emphasis will be given to aspects of planning policy and management. The journal is international and interdisciplinary in scope and content.