Tokyo Population
Profile City Proper Population: 11,781,000 Area: 2,820 sq km (1,090 sq mi) Ethnic composition: 98% Japanese; Others<1% (Korean; Chinese; Southeast Asian; British; American; Brazilian; Peruvian) Metropolitan Area Population: 28,025,000 Description: comprised of the four prefectures of the Kanto region: Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba World population rank 1: 1 Percentage of national population 2: 22.2% Average yearly growth rate: 0.8% Ethnic Composition: 98% Japanese; 2% Other (including American, Brazilian, British, Chinese, Korean, Peruvian, and Southeast Asian) One out of every four residents in Japan makes their home here in Tokyo, though many of them live outside the central districts and commute via train. Language Tokyo dialect refers to the Japanese dialect spoken in Tokyo's modern areas. The common language spoken in Tokyo is often considered to be the standard Japanese language, although it differs from standard Japanese to traditional Japanese language in a number of different social classes. However, the traditional Japanese language is often spoken in the lower class areas, downtown Tokyo and the modern Japanese language is spoken in the upper class areas, modern Tokyo. Religion Japan's two main religions are Shinto and Buddhism. Shinto is the oldest religion out of the two, dating back to be as old as the Japanese culture. Buddhism became a religion of Japan in the 6th century when it was brought from the mainland. Since this time, the two religions have co-existed relatively harmoniously and have even complemented each other to a certain degree. The majority of Japanese people consider themselves as either Buddhist, Shintoist or both. |
Migrants & migration
Japans population began its major growth in the 1980s - 2000. About 50 percent of these moves were within the same prefecture and others were relocations from one prefecture to another. Migration was characterised by urbanisation, between the years of 1950s, 1960s and the twentieth century. Many people were relocating to Japan from rural areas, majorly increasing Japans population. People liked the idea of the opportunities that Japan could offer to them, especially Tokyo. The major opportunities were; better jobs and education. It is said that only 2% of Tokyo's population is made up of migrants, the other 98% are made up of Japanese people. Many push factors have caused people to move from their rural villages to live in Tokyo. Some of the major push factors have been poverty, lack of medical services or educational opportunities, war, lack of food/water and natural disasters. The rural villages that people have been coming from are; Korea, China, Southeast Asia, Brazil and India. Government Tokyo Metropolis is comprised of 23 wards, 26 cities, seven towns, and eight villages. Incorporated cities all have mayors. Legislative authority in the metropolis belongs to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, numbering 127 members elected for terms of four years. The prefectural governor is the principal elected official, presiding over several administrative commissions and their commissioners. Each ward elects a council and a ward head who deal with certain local matters. While crowds of people are found at every turn, the crime rate is relatively low and tourists join in the commotion without fear of injury or loss. Japan's population density Japan has a dense population but as you can see on the map Tokyo is the largest and most densely populated city in Japan. The population distribution for Tokyo is 1,000 people and over per square kilometre. If you compare this to cities that are not categorised as a mega city you will realise that it is a greater amount of people compared to an average city. For example as a comparison Melbourne's population distribution is 430 people per square kilometre. There is a huge difference between these two cities. |