Questionnaire Survey about the Reasons of Young People Migrating to the Tsunami-hit Area

Abstract. This abstract illustrates major results obtained from the questionnaire survey carried out in Kesennuma on October 2018.

We conducted a questionnaire survey focusing on the lifestyles of young migrants living in Kesennuma. The questionnaire was carried out through the Internet using the Google Form. The questionnaire consists of three parts: 1) attitude toward work, income and time management, 2) use of the Internet and 3) interaction with local people.

Kesennuma is the region where greatly damaged by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred in 2011. Many volunteers visited this tsunami-hit area and spent days in reconstructing the area with the local people. Among those volunteers, a certain number of young people decided to migrate from other parts of Japan to the tsunami damaged area. Some left their jobs and found a new job in this area, some after graduating universities started new business, and some returned to their parents’ home to help them. Since then, they have been working continuously in many ways, with the local people in order to revitalize the tsunami-hit area, especially in Kesennuma.

The objective of the questionnaire was to find out the reasons why those young people decided to migrate from other parts of Japan and settle down in this local area.

The questionnaire was distributed to those young migrants in Kesennuma area who contacted with the Kesennuma Centre for Migration and Settlement. We received answers from 108 young migrants, and the response rate of the questionnaire was 87%. This number is extremely high compared to common questionnaire response percentage.

We focused on the three topics of the questionnaire, namely Q1: Are you satisfied with your life here?, Q2: How many hours do you use the Internet per day? Q3: How far do you visit your local acquaintances?