Many imagine that houses and apartments in Japan are small due to lack of space. But actually this happens because most people want to crowd in big cities like Tokyo and Osaka. In Tokyo alone there are 13 million inhabitants, and its expanded region exceeds 36 million (Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa). What makes multiple people habitem the same location?
While in Japan there are 336 inhabitants per km² in Tokyo there are 6,000 people per km². Despite this, Japan suffers from a great birth problem, where the government seriously needs to encourage the Japanese to have children, otherwise the population will decrease more and more, hindering economic growth and needing more and more manpower.
Some imagine Japan as a cluster of cities, but in reality, almost 80% of it is forests and mountains. Even though Japan is a small country, many cities are becoming desolate and abandoned because the majority of the rural population is migrating to Tokyo. The Japanese government has even offered free plots of 300m² to encourage population growth in the Region. The government urgently needs to solve the lack of children being born, as well as move a significant portion of the people out of Tokyo and encourage them to spread across the country.
This is not an easy task, as the population of Tokyo and other metropolises increases. That's because Tokyo is the city of opportunities, the desire of many young people and even foreigners. In Tokyo you have access to everything you need, although it is often an illusion, as even small and remote cities you can find everything, including fun and tourism.
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Tokyo's Overcrowding Problems
The overcrowded trains and schools, long waiting lists for daycare and preschool, etc. The mayor of Tokyo has been struggling with these issues, developing ties with rural areas and encouraging people to leave the city and start a life in the countryside. While Tokyo faces overcrowding problems, regional industries are collapsing, and there aren't enough people to farm the fields.
Overcrowding influences even the low birth rate of the country, as most women in Tokyo have fewer children than in other regions. Although Japanese cities are planned to avoid traffic congestion, this occurs in trains, parks, pools, especially during holidays or festivals. Thousands of people crowded in various situations. Even though the Japanese gather in an organized way, it can be uncomfortable for many.
The government has done the following things to avoid overcrowding in high-access public places:
- Tour buses have restricted schedules;
- Set a limit on total capacity at the venues;
- Increase the opening hours;
- Higher taxes and entry fees;
- Minimum stays;
Japan's Population Density
The fact is that many cities in Japan suffer from overcrowding, while many cities are a wasteland with no residents, no workers, no employees, no students, etc. See a demographic list of Japan with the most populated cities and their density.
| City | Population | Density 1Km² | Área km² |
| Tokyo | 13.503.810 | 6000 | 2.189 |
| Yokohama | 3.555.473 | 8174 | 434 |
| Osaka | 2.643.805 | 11.893 | 222 |
| Nagoya | 2.258.804 | 6.919 | 326 |
Although Japan seems to be one of the most crowded countries in the world, with many people per km², there are 17 other countries that are ahead of Japan. Monaco, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vatican, Malta, Taiwan, South Korea, Puerto Rico, Belgium, Lebanon and many others. The difference is that these countries probably do not leave their areas abandoned to cluster in one place, mainly because some are quite small.
Although Tokyo has a high density, with areas that reach 14,000 people per km². This is well below the density of cities like Manhattan (27,000) and Paris (21,000). One of the strategies to avoid overcrowding is to raise the high housing costs of the city of Tokyo. The big problem is that this leads people to spend less by choosing smaller apartment options. That is, like all of Japan, Tokyo still has a lot of housing space, the fact that it is expensive ends up crowding even more people into small spaces.
Why are rent, apartments, and houses in Tokyo expensive? The simple fact is that most of Tokyo consists of small buildings and houses, while gigantic skyscrapers are expected. The high prices also cause people to live far from work. Many of them still take the train on a very long route, wasting precious time. If the focus of the Japanese were to create taller buildings, prices would be lower and perhaps the space would be larger.
Building and transforming smart cities
Tokyo always attracts attention, which makes it necessary for the city to evolve in a way that makes life easier for its residents. This helps to mitigate some of the problems caused by the overcrowding of people migrating to the city. Japan has been transforming its cities intelligently, using technologies that reduce energy consumption, environmental pollution, etc. However, this is not enough; the Japanese government needs to develop other cities and encourage people to live in them.
There is a concept called Smart City, Fujisawa was the first smart city within the concept where the focus is to reduce expenses and create something sustainable. But instead of creating smart cities, Japan has transformed existing cities to make life easier for citizens. There are several factors that make a city smart, such as:
- Connectivity;
- Integration;
- Planning;
- Accessibility;
- Economy;
- Sustainability;
- Innovation;
- Quality of life;
- Interactivity;
- Efficiency;
- Intelligence;
- Mobility;
- Creativity;
Instead of creating smart cities, it is these factors that Japan needs to think about developing in small cities in order to attract the population. Japan has done this job with its technology, transportation, facility, etc. What do you think about this subject? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments, and your sharing.