著者

NISHIHARA Jun ISHIKAWA Yoshitaka HIRATSUKA Hitomi KAWASAKI Yukari

出版者

The Association of Japanese Geographers

雑誌

Geographical review of Japan series B (ISSN:18834396)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.85, no.2, pp.57-73, 2013 (Released:2013-05-29)

参考文献数

15

被引用文献数

1 2

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In this paper, we analyze the current situation of international marriage in the Tokai region, which is one of Japan’s most industrialized regions and has a higher rate of international marriage than the national average. We used Vital Statistics of Japan for the region’s prefectures (Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi, and Mie Prefectures) and data from our mailed questionnaire for municipalities to examine the factors of international marriage related to geographical background. These investigations were carried out through correlation and regression analyses at the prefecture, daily-life area, and municipality levels. Consequently, three key findings emerged. First, the Tokai prefectures have different characteristics of spouse nationality in international marriages than those of Japan as a whole. Second, the municipalities with a high international marriage rate are located in underpopulated areas in mountainous and peninsular regions as well as in the highly industrialized areas, especially large cities. Third, the correlation and regression analyses of all 47 prefectures in Japan clarify that the disparities in the sex ratio of unmarried persons, the characteristics of an area’s industrialization, and the foreign population are geographical background factors determining the incidence of international marriages. However, as the geographical scale of the analysis became smaller, almost no meaningful geographical background factor could be identified at either the daily-life area or municipal level in the Tokai region.

著者

ISHIKAWA Yoshitaka

出版者

The Association of Japanese Geographers

雑誌

Geographical review of Japan series B (ISSN:18834396)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.83, no.1, pp.1-14, 2010-09-30 (Released:2010-10-10)

参考文献数

55

被引用文献数

1 2

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This paper explores the roles of matchmaking agencies (MAs) in international marriages in contemporary Japan by identifying them from such sources as Yahoo Japan's website, telephone directory, and a website of international marriage agencies. With the selected agencies, in-depth interview surveys were conducted, and the following findings were obtained. Many MAs started matchmaking services due to their own personal experiences with international marriage. For Japanese men, the main motivation for international marriage is the difficulty of finding Japanese women to marry. Regarding the spatial distribution of Japanese clients, there is an obvious distance-decay tendency: the shorter the distance from a particular MA office, the more clients. MAs provide various kinds of advice about preparing documents to help foreign wives of Japanese clients acquire spouse visas. Although many MAs are conscientious, they are wary of unscrupulous agencies. Furthermore, based on interviews with immigration officials, at least one-third of all international marriages registered in Japan are agency-based marriages. These results suggest that the significance of MAs needs to be favorably evaluated in the context of Japan's current population, which started to decline in 2005. Foreign brides as new residents might obtain permanent residence status in Japan and should be supported by national and local governments.

著者

ISHIKAWA Yoshitaka

出版者

The Association of Japanese Geographers

雑誌

Geographical review of Japan series B (ISSN:18834396)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.81, no.1, pp.1-3, 2009-03-26 (Released:2009-03-26)

参考文献数

3