Abstract
1. For a decade starting 1955 the Japanese economy achieved an extremely high growth, at a rate unparalleled by the economies of other advanced nations. On the reverse side of the coin, however, this high economic growth stimulated the sudden and large-scale influx of industries and population into big cities, and, bacause of the failure of social overhead capital to catch up with the needs, it has given rise to various urban problems.
In the composition of Japan's fiscal expenditure, the ratio of the defense expense is ex-tremely low as compared with other advanced countries. In contrast, the ratio of the public works expense (investment in social capital) is relatively high.
Such investment in social capital, however, has so far placed top stress on the strengthe-ning of the industrial foundation to the relative naglect of the expansion of the living founda-tion based on housing and other living facilities. Without this policy and the movement of population from agricultural villages to cities, the present prosperity of the Japanese economy is about to enter the stage of stable growth after a brisk expansion in the 1960s. 2. The advancing rate of land prices in the six major cities has kept pace with the fluctua-tions of the economic growth tempo. During the previous two business boom period, land prices soared markedly. In the process of the current business upswing, the increasing pace of land prices also has been accelerated.
As the economic growth rate in the next five years is likely to stand strong incentive in the demand phase. As such, more drastic steps are supposed for curbing the advance of land prices.
The residential districts in the Tôkyô Metropolitan Region have been developing clockwise from the southern and western parts. In comparison with the rapid advance of land prices in the western parts (Mitaka, Musashino, etc.), the land prices in the northern and eastern parts (Koshigaya, Matsudo, etc.) continued to stay relatively lower until a few years ago. However, the prices of land in the northern and eastern parts have begun to soar along with the progress of motorization and the advance of land prices recently.
3. Urayasu in Chiba Prefecture is situated to the east of Tôkyô, but has not been urbanized as it is difficult in accessibility. It has a population of about 20, 000, its soil is not good for agriculture. Its economy, therefore, has depended on the coastal fishery and nearly all its people have been engaged in agriculture and fishery for livelihood. But urbanization has attached in wave to Urayasu, owing to the opening of the subway connected to the heart of Tôkyô at the end of March, 1969.
4. Judging the phenomenon of urbanization of Urayasu from such angles as diversion of agricultural land, starting construction work and vital statictics, we can recognize the great difference both in quality and in quantity from the end of 1967, 1968 and 1970 respectively.
The farmers of Urayasu are very petty peasants compared with those in her neighbouring cities and towns, and 80 per cent of them do not sell their crops at present. Since the sub-way plan connecting Urayasu with the heart of Tôkyô was announced in 1965, the residential land price has shot up.
Fishery in this place has been inactive due to llreclamation work of the foreshore, land readjustment work giving impetus to this situation, so that the farmers who sell their farm land or build and manage the apartment houses on their farms increased in number. This tendency has spectacularly increasedd in number since the end March, 1969, when the new subway was opened for traffic.
5. Residential land price at Urayasu has gradually risen since about 1962, and has reached 120, 000 yen per 3.3m2 after a jump in 1968-9. But since then the price has been following a crablike course, showing the aspect different from general cases.
