Abstract
With the rapid development of the Japanese economy and the increase in the importance of transport, the study of transport has increased. In spite of wide split in methodology and objectives between the geographies in quantitative and sicio-economic frameworks, Japanese transport geographers have contributed many fundamental and practical analysis of transport. In this paper, the author comments on the outline of development in the study of socio-economic transport geography, or transport geography in a socio-economic framework, especially since the latter half of the 1960's. Socio-economic transport geography means the analysis of transport modes and facilities or transport enterprises in relation to the regional environment through an integrated system with reference to technology, administeration and policy, economics, and culture, with their historical development.
In the development of these socio-economic transport geography in Japan, several studies have focused on specific subjects, such as port and shipping activity, rural land transport, and urban transport. The development process and present situation of transport in these field has been analysed in relation to regional development. The emphasis in the studies has gradually moved from morphological to functional approaches, accompanied by a historical approach, looking for the process of decision-making. Some geographers have commented on the importance of studies oriented toward regional planning and policy-making. This will lead the studies to the brightest prospect for transport geography today.
