A Study of the Urbanization Process in Post War Japan*

Japan experienced extremely rapid urbanization and high economic growth after the war, but urbanization trends have considerably changed over the years. To analyze the recent evolution of Japanese cities, we introduce a new definition of the metropolitan area, which is called the Standard Metropolitan Employment Area (SMEA). By applying the same criteria to 1965, 1975 and 1985 census data sets, we identified 87 SMEAs in 1965, 104 in 1975 and 118 in 1985. By comparing the three descriptions of urban Japan during these years, we can obtain a broad picture of urban development in the two decades. During that time, decentralization became significant in terms of employment as well as population. Not only were the urbanized areas dispersed throughout the country, but also suburbanization advanced within the metropolitan areas. Such decentralization developed dramatically during the former decade, while during the latter 10 years it slowed down.