BEPPU, OITA PREF. ¨C As the nation¡¯s population rapidly ages with ever-fewer births, the decline of Japan¡¯s outlying regions continues. The population exodus from rural regions to the Tokyo metropolitan area ¡ª mainly involving youths ¡ª remains unabated. It almost appears that the nation¡¯s key public functions are being concentrated solely in Tokyo.
Under such circumstances, regional revitalization has been put on the nation¡¯s key policy agenda to stop the concentration of population and resources in the capital. However, policy challenges confronting Tokyo itself are rarely discussed, as if they exist in a vacuum. This situation is hardly tenable when we consider the long-term interests of the nation.
Tokyo has three major problems that must be overcome.
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