Abstract
As a part of study on urban functions and areas, the author treated with a daily circulation of labor force getting into and out of cities which he termed “Urban Labor Force Balance.” In order to make a preliminary observation of the urban labor force balance in Japanese cities, 119 cities were sellected out of 238 cities in all with population of 50, 000 and more. As a result of it, it is characteristically recognizable that the supplying and movable type of cities in their labor force movement distribute around some big cities or metropolitan centers (Fig.1). Examplifying with 35 cities around Tokyo (ward area), therefore, as. one of those centers, two ratios, percentage of out-commuters to the central city Tokyo among the total out commuters and that of resident workers among the total workers, computed about each of those surrounding cities, were found themselves inversely proportionate and proportionate respectively to the time distance from central city Tokyo. And the deviations from those general inclinations are regionally grouped (Fig, . 2&3). Though it is hard to get a causal explanation for those groupings, they seem to be conditioned with whether having comparatively influential big working places in each city or in the vicinity.
Interconnections through labor force flow among cities around Tokyo have major groups as excluded those to and from Tokyo, Yokohama, and Kawasaki; they are Shonan (southern suburbs). Musashino (western suburbs), Northern, Eastern suburban groups, and also Northern Kanto group. We can scarcely say, therefore, that metropolitanization in Tokyo Metropolitan Area has reached the stage as disorganized some local groups of labor force movement formed among cities surrounding the metropolitan center. Another peculiar feature of labor force balance in those surrounding cities is that the percentages of lab-or force supplied to them from urban settlements with population more than 50, 000 of all labor force influx decrease as the time distance from Tokyo increases, while contrary to it the percentages of laborers from rural settlements with population less than 50, 000 increase. It is probably because the former percen tages are proportionate to the urban population density decreasing as the time distance from Tokyo becomes greater.
Thus the metropolitan area of Tokyo shown as Fig. 8 was declineated from the viewpoint of labor force balance of its surrounding cities the core of which contains Funabashi, Ichikawa, Matsudo, KawaguChi, Urawa, Musashion, Mitaka, and Kawasaki cities centering Tokyo (ward area).
