While the world's population is predicted to keep on growing in the years ahead, the population of Japan is expected to shrink rapidly as a result of a declining birth rate and an aging society. In facing such circumstances head on, cities across Japan, in order to maintain their dynamism, must harness their respective characteristics and push ahead with urban development, while maintaining the “magnetism” required to attract people and companies, as well as the “growth potential” that continually demonstrates their urban appeal and strengths. In the “Japan Power Cities–Profiling Urban Attractiveness”, a comparative and multi-faceted analysis of the strengths of the major cities of Japan was conducted to shed light on city characteristics such as strengths and attractiveness in the hope of contributing to the formulation and execution of an urban strategy plan.
Japan Power Cities 2019 Summary
This summary includes the background & objective, the evaluation methodology of the study, the data tables, and the 2019 results & analysis. The results & analysis features radar charts of specific cities and a cluster analysis of all target cities. The in-depth report of this study will be published in “Japan Power Cities Databook 2019”, available in October, 2019 (Japanese only).
72 major Japanese cities and the 23 wards of Tokyo were included as target cities in this study. Regarding the selection of the target cities, first a list of top 3 cities by population in each prefecture, or administrative region, is created. Next, from that list, 1) Ordinance-designated cities and 2) Prefectural capitals were selected. Finally, in addition to cities from 1) and 2), cities with a population of more than 200,000 and a daytime-nighttime population ratio of more than 1.0 for those located within Japan's big three metropolitan areas, or more than 0.9 for cities elsewhere, were selected.
In Japan Power Cities, 6 functions (Economy & Business, Research & Development, Cultural Interaction, Daily Life & Livability, Environment, and Accessibility) were created to represent the components of cities. Furthermore, 26 indicator groups were established to represent the primary components of those functions, with 83 indicators finally being determined.
Radar charts and bar graphs were used to clarify the strengths and attractiveness of each target city in this study. The following are the examples of particularly unique cities, six of which are from a 72 major Japanese cities and three from the 23 wards of Tokyo.
A sustainable city where people
and industries live harmoniously
A smart-garden city
with emerging innovations
Striving for well-rounded economic activity
and strong appeal “Cross-roads of the North”
Possessing diverse environments
and ease of living “A city of contentment”
A city integrated with the environment,
filled with an abundance of nature
The urban industrial core of Tokyo-Yokohama
with excellent transportation convenience
A cosmopolitan city that continues to progress flexibly
while valuing diversity and individuality
A bustling city that attracts a variety of talent
from both inside and outside the country
A city leveraging its waterways and protecting
its abundant environmental resources
In the Databook 2019, you can find a city's characteristics through different data forms including indicator group-specific radar charts.
Special Research
Spatial Connectivity Analysis of the Movement of Foreign Visitors to Japan
～Mobile Spatial Statistics Data Analysis ～
This investigation aims to contribute to future strategic plans for tourism in individual cities by visualizing the movement of foreign tourists between the JPC target cities and through that clarifying the potential or challenges that each city faces from the viewpoint of tourism.
You can find the summary and results of this research on p.20-24.
Japan Power Cities 2019: Tokyo Tama
In addition to the 23 wards in Tokyo covered by Japan Power Cities, 6 others cities within Tokyo—Tama, Machida, Hachioji, Fuchu, Musashino and Tachikawa—were selected for study in this supplementary research.
※This version (Japanese only) is not included in Japan Power Cities Databook 2019 (expected release of October 2019).
For enquiry about Japan Power Cities 2019, please contact to iusall[AT]mori-m-foundation.or.jp
