About Japan

• Country in East Asia

• 377,973 km²

• 125.1 million people

• Population density 328 people per km2

• Developed economy

• GDP 4.23 trillion USD

Reasons for population distribution

• Job opportunities (big cities such as Tokyo and Osaka)

• Climate (the north is cold which makes farming difficult. The south has an even climate )

• Mountains (70%)

• Natural disasters (cost side)

• Historical developments (Tokyo developed into an economic and political center)

• Infrastructure (big cities have high-speed trains, Rural areas have almost no transport options)

• Young people move to big cities

Internal migration in Japan

• Migrate to south-east Japan (specifically Tokyo)

• Stable economy

• Transportation unit

• Job opportunities

• Better infrastructure

• Other densely populated cities: Osaka, Kanagawa, Saitama, Aichi

• Immigrated from rural to metropolitan area

• Large companies in Japan: Honda, Mitsubishi, Sony, etc.

• Work for young adults

• Mountainous regions (south-west)=less populated

• Low economy, less job opportunities, weaker education

• Forced migration from Hiroshima

• Got bombed in WWII

Economical impacts of internal migration

• Higher immigration rates = lower working wages

• The more people that get jobs = the more people need to get paid

• Near coast: Transportation from Sea

• The economy took a toll in 2020 (due to Covid)

• People had to isolate themselves due to Covid = no-one working

• Economy affected by natural disasters