Motorization under the “Large-Store Law Regime” and the Development of Experimental Suburban Malls

Abstract

Amid the proliferation of large suburban shopping malls in cities across Japan, the decline of central shopping areas is now widely problematized. Based on existing geographical research on large-store development, which had focused primarilyon the 1990s and the 2000s, this study examines a prehistory of suburban mall development by employing location data of suburban shopping malls and official company histories. The study finds that leading suburban mall developers, most notably AEON, has accumulated their knowhows of suburban malls that cater to motorized consumers from decades before the onset of mass motorization in regional cities.