A Review of Studies on Metropolitan Areas in Japan

Japanese metropolises have undergone drastic changes over the past 30 years. The concentration of population in large cities and subsequent suburbanization, extension of commuter zones and metropolitan areas, and suburbanization of retail and industrial activities have reorganized the metropolitan areas. This paper attempts to review the geographical studies on metropolitan areas in recent decades, paying special attention to the dominant phenomena occurring in metropolitan areas and research trends among them. Studies on metropolitan areas began with the expansion of large cities and urbanization in outlying areas. Later, the processes of metropolitan growth and the structure of metropolitan areas became the main themes of metropolitan studies. As in developed nations in Western Europe and North America, deconcentration of the population and economic activities are common in Japanese metropolitan areas. Hence, geographical studies on metropolitan areas are reviewed under the following headings: suburbanization of population, outmovement of industry, suburbanization of retailing, deconcentration of employment, flows of people and commodities, office activities, increase in high buildings and underground establishments, and suburbanization of housing. Despite the relative decline of the central city in the metropolitan area, tertiary activities as well as office activities still exist in the central part of the city, and the Japanese suburbanization areas do not have serious inner city problems.