Although in previous studies it is well known that the Japanese urban system is characterized by a hierarchical structure such as Christaller's model, we have not so deeply examined the features of non-hierarchical structures as seen in urban linkages. In an advanced country it is naturally important for studies in urban systems to analyze economic linkages in large multilocational organizations which have played an important role in growing urban systems. While administrative organizations generally consist of a hierarchical structure, branch networks of large companies do not perfectly correspond to a hierarchical urban structure but can also include partially horizontal linkages between neighboring cities of the same order, as shown in Pred's model. Can Pred's model sufficiently explain Japanese urban systems? The aim of this paper is to clarify economic linkages between Japanese cities by analyzing bank branch networks of each of 145 commercial banks in Japan and the location of new branches established in the last 20 years. The main results analyzed are summarized as follows:
1. By analyzing the metropolitan share of employees engaged in branches and head officies in three metropolitan areas for each of 145 banks (Fig. 1) and additionally by observing the regional distribution of branches, the commercial banks can be classified into five types: national type, metropolitan area type, metropolis-surrounding type, regional type and prefectural type. Although most of the so-called
city bank belong to the national type in such a classification, bank branches of this type are not located in all the main cities of the whole country such as regional metropolises, most prefectural capitals, etc. Similarly, branches of regional banks except
city banks are not distributed extensively in small and medium-sized cities outside their own prefecture where the headquarters are located, but only in the main centers of the neighboring prefectures and regional metropolises which means linkages are with neighboring cities of almost the same order and non-iherarchical linkages to higher order centers. Bank branches of the regional type are distributed in wider areas than those of the prefectural type located only in it, but not in the whole area of a province, across their own prefecture. Thus, there is no great difference between banks of both types. Moreover, regional and prefectural types can be subdivided into two types respectively due to the different distribution of branches.
2. The fact that the distribution areas of branches tend to be limited within their own prefecture is explained by two reasons: less knowledge of the situation of branches outside their own prefecture, and the control of the Ministry of Finance as a legal authority that permits a preferential setting for banks within their own prefecture. But in areas with close economic relations across the boundary between neighboring prefectures such as between Okayama and Hiroshima Prefectures we can recognize a partial intermixture of branch networks.
3. Most banks of the metropolis-surrounding type have many branches in their neighboring metropolitan area while they lack linkages with regional metropolises. This stems from the fact that their close economic linkages are mostly specialized in the metropolitan area. By contrast, as the headquarters of banks are located far from a metropolitan area, the linkages with it becomes relatively loose. Such banks set branches not only in metropolises, especially in Tokyo, but also in regional metropolises and the neighboring main cities outside their own prefecture. Accordingly, in areas remote from a metropolitan area regional metropolises lead to play an important role as a regional center; as shown in Figure 4, banks prefer to establish their branches in regional metropolises.
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