Can the COVID-19 Pandemic Change the Japanese Economy through Geographic Distribution?

Abstract

The COVID-19 Pandemic has had a huge impact on the Japanese economy. This article investigates its economic impact on Japan by observing the very recent trend in demographic statistics on population movement from and into the Tokyo Metropolitan region and its building vacancy rate. The article also explores the simultaneous trend of digitalization of the Japanese economy and geographic distribution of economic activities away from Tokyo that might lead to solving the issue of heavy concentration of economic activities in the capital.