IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v13y2024i4p197-d1368135.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perception and Relocation Intentions of Japanese Youth towards Rural Areas: A Case Study of Visitors in Hanyu-shi, Saitama Prefecture

Author

Listed:
  • Yingming Mao

    (Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Chiba 271-8510, Japan)

  • Lei He

    (Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Chiba 271-8510, Japan)

  • Dibyanti Danniswari

    (Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Technology, Universitas Trisakti, Jakarta 11440, Indonesia)

  • Katsunori Furuya

    (Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Chiba 271-8510, Japan)

Abstract

As a highly urbanized country, Japan is facing the phenomenon of a continuous migration of young people from rural areas to cities, leading to an aging and decreasing population in rural communities. Influenced by the pandemic, people began to reconsider the issue of population concentration in large cities, causing urban residents to become interested in returning to rural areas. The focus of this study is on the perceptions and relocation intentions of Japanese youth towards rural areas, particularly in Hanyu-shi, Saitama Prefecture. Through semi-structured interviews with 26 urban university students who live in urban areas, this study explores the factors that attract or hinder them from having rural lives. The survey results show that childhood experiences and current lifestyle preferences have influenced their views on rural areas. The main hindering factors include backwards infrastructure, communication difficulties, and limited job prospects. This study reveals a significant cognitive gap in urban youth’s attitudes towards rural life in Japan. The study emphasizes the need to eliminate these hindrances and enhance the attractiveness of rural areas to promote reverse urban migration. This study provides important insights for policymakers and urban planners, highlighting the necessity of formulating development strategies that meet the needs of urban youth residents, which is crucial for the sustainable revitalization of rural Japan.

Suggested Citation

  • Yingming Mao & Lei He & Dibyanti Danniswari & Katsunori Furuya, 2024. "Perception and Relocation Intentions of Japanese Youth towards Rural Areas: A Case Study of Visitors in Hanyu-shi, Saitama Prefecture," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:13:y:2024:i:4:p:197-:d:1368135
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/4/197/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/4/197/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Way Inn Koay & Denise Dillon, 2020. "Community Gardening: Stress, Well-Being, and Resilience Potentials," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-31, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mário Santos & Helena Moreira & João Alexandre Cabral & Ronaldo Gabriel & Andreia Teixeira & Rita Bastos & Alfredo Aires, 2022. "Contribution of Home Gardens to Sustainable Development: Perspectives from A Supported Opinion Essay," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-26, October.
    2. Kristen Jakstis & Leonie K. Fischer, 2021. "Urban Nature and Public Health: How Nature Exposure and Sociocultural Background Relate to Depression Risk," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-18, September.
    3. Tobias Ihle & Ellen Jahr & Dörte Martens & Holger Muehlan & Silke Schmidt, 2024. "Health Effects of Participation in Creating Urban Green Spaces—A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-26, June.
    4. Bixia Chen & Kazuna Miyagi & Tomoyuki Namihira & Daiki Kayano & Mika Aragaki & Shiori Suzuki, 2024. "What Motivates Urban Dwellers to Engage in Urban Farming?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-18, August.
    5. Yunan Lin & Hongpeng Fu & Qikang Zhong & Zitu Zuo & Sihong Chen & Ziqiang He & Hao Zhang, 2024. "The Influencing Mechanism of the Communities’ Built Environment on Residents’ Subjective Well-Being: A Case Study of Beijing," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-21, June.
    6. Megan E. Gerdes & Lucy A. Aistis & Naomi A. Sachs & Marcus Williams & Jennifer D. Roberts & Rachel E. Rosenberg Goldstein, 2022. "Reducing Anxiety with Nature and Gardening (RANG): Evaluating the Impacts of Gardening and Outdoor Activities on Anxiety among U.S. Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-20, April.
    7. Missiliana Riasnugrahani & Tery Setiawan & Edwin Jong & Bagus Takwin, 2024. "A dual pathway for understanding the relation between wellbeing and resilience," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    8. Zinka Kosec & Stella Sekulic & Susan Wilson-Gahan & Katja Rostohar & Matej Tusak & Marta Bon, 2022. "Correlation between Employee Performance, Well-Being, Job Satisfaction, and Life Satisfaction in Sedentary Jobs in Slovenian Enterprises," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-14, August.
    9. Danni Feng & Quan Wang & Sufang Huang & Xiaorong Lang & Fengfei Ding & Wei Wang, 2022. "The Effect of Perceived Stress, Family Companionship, and Mental Health on the Subjective Happiness of Chinese Healthcare Workers: A Mixed Research Method," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-17, September.
    10. Francisco Tomatis & Monika Egerer & Adriana Correa-Guimaraes & Luis Manuel Navas-Gracia, 2023. "Urban Gardening in a Changing Climate: A Review of Effects, Responses and Adaptation Capacities for Cities," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:13:y:2024:i:4:p:197-:d:1368135. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.