Problems of Local Administration: The Case of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government
| Published date | 01 June 1982 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002085238204800210 |
| Date | 01 June 1982 |
| Author | Shinichi Nomura |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Problems
of
Local
Administration:
The
Case
of
the
Tokyo
Metropolitan
Government
UDC :
352.071
(52)
by
Shinichi
NOMURA,
Vice
Governor
of
the
Tokyo
Metropolitan
Government
I.
PROGRESS
AND
THE
PRESENT
SITUATION
OF
TOKYO
Tokyo,
with
its
air
of
vitality,
is
one
of
the
largest
cities
in
the
world
today.
It
has
a
rather
long
history,
going
back
to
its
be-
ginnings
approximately
700
years
ago
when
it
was
merely
a
small
fishing
village.
It
is
about
400
years
since
it
became
a
political
center.
Japan
is
located
adjacent
to
the
eastern
coast
of
the
Asian
Continent
and
forms
an
arc-shaped
archipelago
stretching
about
2,000
kilometers
from
north
to
south.
Tokyo
is
located
in
the
centre
of
Japan.
The
climate
is
mild
due
to
the
influence of
the
surrounding
seas
and
offers
distinct
seasonal
changes.
Tokyo
embraces
a
land
area
ranging
from
alluvial
lowland
estuaries
to
the
diluvial
pla-
teaus
on
Japan’s
largest
plain.
One
can
view
Japan’s
highest
mountain,
Mount
Fuji,
from
a
number
of
spots
downtown.
This
gives
one
example
of
how
small
Japan
is.
Tokyo
has
established
itself
as
a
modern
urban
city,
but
is
still
changing.
Tokyo
as
a
modem
urban
city
dates
back
to
the
so-
called
Meiji
Restoration.
Since
Ieyasu
To-
kugawa
established
his
shogunate
government
in
Edo,
the
former
name
of
Tokyo,
at
the
beginning
of
the
17th
century,
Edo
continued
to
expand
as
the
political
center
of
Japan.
By
the
latter
half
of
the
18th
century,
it
had
become
the
largest
city
in
the
world,
recording
a
population
of
1
million.
At
the
time
of
the
Meiji
Restoration
in
1868,
Edo
was
re-named
Tokyo
and
designated
the
capital
of
the
new
Meiji
Government.
Since
then,
Tokyo
has
continued
to
demonstrate
a
trend
of
expansion
and
has
become
a
large
modem
city
of
the
present
era,
despite
two
fatal
disasters :
the
Great
Kanto
Earthquake
(1923)
and
its
de-
struction
at
the
end
of
the
Second
World
War
.(1944-1945).
In
the
meantime,
the
size
of
Tokyo
City
expanded
sharply
from
a
former
81
to
550
square
kilometers
in
1932
along
with
its
ex-
ternal
expansion.
In
1943,
during
World
War
II,
the
Tokyo
Metropolis
was
bom
with
a
unique
system
as
a
result
of
the
unification
of
the
Tokyo
Prefecture
and
Tokyo
City.
The
system
of
the
Tokyo
Metropolis
will
be
dis-
cussed
later,
but
one
thing
that
should
be
noted
here
is
that
while
various
changes
were
made
in
the
process
of
postwar
political
re-
forms,
the
present
system
of
administration
of
Tokyo
originates
from
the
establishment
of
the
Tokyo
Metropolis.
In
order
to
understand
the
present
problems
of
Tokyo,
it
is
important
to
note
the
sub-
stantial
expansion
of
Tokyo.
Drastic
influxes
of
population
from
the
rural
areas
to
the
urban
areas
which
were
observed
throughout
the
country
during
the
postwar
period
were
par-
ticularly
overwhelming
in
the
case
of
Tokyo.
Tokyo
as
a
population
center
expanded
to
cover
its
adjacent
prefectures
exceeding
the
administrative
area
of
the
Tokyo
Metropolis,
thus
forming
the
Tokyo
Metropolitan
Region.
However,
the
influx
of
population
into
the
Tokyo
Metropolitan
Region
has
gradually
been
declining.
The
present
population
of
the
Tokyo
Me-
tropolis
is
11.6
million,
and
has
been
slightly
decreasing
in
recent
years,
demonstrating
a
clear
contrast
to
the
1960s
when
continuous
increases
in
the
population
were
recorded.
However,
the
population
of the
Tokyo
Metro-
politan
Region,
which
is usually
referred
to
as
the &dquo; Tokyo
Region &dquo;
(Tokyo
Metropolis,
and
Saitama,
Chiba,
and
Kanagawa
prefectures)
totals
28.7
million,
is
still
growing
though
the
rate
of
increase
is
slowing
down.
This
in-
dicates
the
strength
of
the
drawing
force
of
Tokyo
as
the
nucleus
of
politics,
economy,
and
.culture
in
Japan.
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