Overcrowding and the growing urban population of Japan

Many imagine that houses and apartments in Japan are small due to lack of space. However, this actually happens because most people want to cluster in large cities like Tokyo and Osaka. In Tokyo alone, there are 13 million inhabitants, and its expanded region exceeds 36 million (Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa). What causes so many people to inhabit the same place?

While Japan has 336 inhabitants per Km², in Tokyo there are 6,000 people per Km². Despite this, Japan suffers from a significant birthrate problem, where the government seriously needs to encourage the Japanese to have children; otherwise, the population will continue to decrease, hindering economic growth and increasingly requiring labor.

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 deserted and abandoned because most 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 not only solve the lack of children being born but also to move a large part of the people from Tokyo and encourage them to spread throughout the country.

This is not an easy task; the population of Tokyo and other metropolises is increasing more and more. This is 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 much of it is often an illusion, as even small and remote cities offer everything, including entertainment and tourism.

The Problems of Overcrowding in Tokyo

Crowded trains and schools, long waiting lists for daycare and preschool, etc. The mayor of Tokyo has been fighting against these problems, developing ties with rural areas and encouraging people to leave the city and start a life in the countryside. While Tokyo faces overcrowding issues, regional industries are failing, and there are not enough people to farm the fields.

Overcrowding even influences the low birthrate of the country, as most women in Tokyo have fewer children than those from other regions. Although Japanese cities are planned to avoid traffic congestion, this occurs in trains, parks, swimming pools, especially on holidays or festivals. Thousands of people crowded in various situations. Even though the Japanese crowd in an organized manner, it can be uncomfortable for many.

The government has done the following to avoid overcrowding in highly accessed public places:

• Tourist buses have restricted schedules;
• Set total capacity limits in places;
• Extend operating hours;
• Higher taxes and entry fees;
• Minimum stays;

Population Density in Japan

The fact is that several cities in Japan suffer from overcrowding, while many cities are a desert without residents, workers, employees, students, etc. Here is a demographic list of Japan with the most populated cities and their density.

City	Population	Density 1Km²	Area 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 rank ahead of Japan. Monaco, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vatican City, Malta, Taiwan, South Korea, Puerto Rico, Belgium, Lebanon, and several others. The difference is that these countries probably do not leave their areas abandoned to cluster in one location, especially since some are quite small.

Despite Tokyo having a high density, with areas reaching 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 overpopulation is to raise the high housing costs in the city of Tokyo. The big problem is that this leads people to spend less by choosing smaller apartment options. In other words, just like all of Japan, Tokyo still has a lot of housing space; the fact that it is expensive ends up clustering even more people into small spaces.

Why are rents, apartments, and houses in Tokyo expensive? The simple fact 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 even larger.

The Construction and Transformation of Smart Cities

Tokyo will always attract attention, which makes the city need to evolve in a way that facilitates the life of those who live there. This helps to mitigate some of the problems caused by the overcrowding of people migrating to the city. Japan has been transforming its cities smartly, with technologies that reduce energy consumption, environmental pollution, etc. However, this is not enough; the Japanese government needs to grow 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 costs and create something sustainable. However, instead of creating smart cities, Japan has been transforming existing cities to facilitate the lives of 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, these are the factors that Japan needs to think about developing in small towns to attract the population. Japan has been doing this work with its technology, transportation, convenience, etc. What do you think about this subject? We would like to hear your opinion in the comments and your sharing.