ABSTRACT

Japan faces an imminent population decline sharper than any yet seen in a developed country. This is certain to have profound impacts on land and housing markets, and will change both the meaning of urban space and the urban policy context. This chapter examines the hypothesis that one impact will be a profound re-orientation of urban politics, and that a new primary driver of urban policy will be the imperative to retain and attract population, in attempts to prevent spirals of population and economic decline. If such pressures result in a shift to a prioritisation of urban liveability and quality of life, it would represent a major break with the past, as even more than in most developed countries, urban policy in Japan has been focused on economic development and profitability, rather than social infrastructure and quality of place.