Abstract
Tokyo, Osaka and Aichi Prefectures1); the three largest economic centers in Japan, attract a huge number of laborers every year. It amounts to 47 per cent of the country's working population that is absorbed in those areas, which are in need of increased labor power as their businesses and industries continue to grow. The growing industries in the other parts of Japan, however, seek labor supply from their local areas, and this trend of labor concentration in the three areas is somewhat moderated. In this paper, an attempt is made to analyze the labor force pouring into those three areas, or labor markets, in order to clarify the characteristics of each market.
Tokyo obtains 82 per cent of its labor force from the surrounding Kanto, Tohoku and Tosan2) Areas, found continously in the north-eastern part of Japan. Osaka finds its labor supply in the south-western part of the country; 60 per cent of it comes from Kinki, Chugoku and Shikoku Areas, while the rest comes mainly from Kyushu. Aichi, located between Tokyo and Osaka, obtains only 26 per cent of its labor from the surrounding four prefectures, and the rest from all parts of the country, including Kyushu. The labor-supply areas of Aichi are thus scattered throughout the country.
The number of agricultural population has much to do with the flows of laborers; the area which has a large number of agrarian people gives off a large flow of laborers. The flows are also conditioned by differences in wage according to each area. As a rule, the flows are decided by such conditions as distance, transportation, history and economy, but exceptions can be made by such elements as social and psychological reasons, and types of jobs which require special talents, education or sex.
