ABSTRACT
Rapid industrial urbanization took off in Japan in the 1920s (Sorensen, 2002). Benefiting from governmental encouragement and support, several cities began to grow massively based on their geographical advantages. Thus Tokyo, Osaka and other national centres became ‘shining city stars’ during this period. Their links to the outside world followed the industrialization of the Japanese economy from then on. The famous four industrial zones of Japan (Keihin, Chukyo, Hanshin and Kitakyushu) had already formed by the 1930s due to industrial development and their excellent locational conditions. Japan’s economy was destroyed totally in World War II and the rebuilding process of the Japanese economy began apace in 1950–55. After the economic revival, the Japanese government promoted an imbalanced development policy by encouraging dominant industries and metropolitan concentration, which triggered the formation of the ‘Three Metropolitan Regions’ based on the four industrial zones. Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka metropolitan regions, and also other local metropolitan regions, together constitute one of the biggest city-economic corridors in the world: the Pacific Belt (Choe, 1998). This city belt also became Japan’s biggest window to the outside world, especially for domestic and foreign companies. This is the city success story up to the 1970s.
