According to a Tokyo municipal government survey rating the attractiveness of cities in 6 categories (living environment, office environment, business environment, information, shopping, others), Tokyo rates high when compared to select Western cites for information and shopping, and low for living, business, and office environments. New York received the highest ratings among 4 cities for all categories. When compared to other Asian cities, Tokyo received the highest ratings for information and shopping. As a living environment, however, the rating is low: the graph is markedly distorted in form. Hong Kong is rated high as a business environment, and Singapore as a living environment. Comparison with Western Cities Comparison with Asian Cities Source: Tokyo Municipal Planning Council, "The attractiveness and problems of Tokyo for foreign-owned companies," 1994

	Most of the problems raised regarding Tokyo as a living environment center on housing and the cost of living, followed by commuting difficulties and the distance between the home and work. Problems with Tokyo as a Living Environment Inability to get good housing at a reasonable price 1,524 High cost of living 1,442 Crowded commuting 1,039 Home and work too far apart 901 Bad surroundings (noise, pollution, etc.) 263 Too little greenery/nature 255 Poor road system 236 Social receptivity to foreigners 231 Poor educational environment for children 138 Poor medical facilities 61 Public safety 44 Poor leisure facilities 37 Poor cultural facilities 18 Poor shopping facilities 6 Inability to eat native country's foods 1 Source: Tokyo Municipal Planning Council, "The attractiveness and problems of Tokyo for foreign-owned companies," 1994 Chart reflects total responses (including multiple answers) The average floor area of a residence in the Tokyo 23 ward area is 55 sq. m., two-thirds that of the national average. This figure is not only inferior to the averages in Western cities, but other Asian cities as well. Average Floor Area per Housing Unit Taipei 104 Paris 90 Japan 86 Singapore 85 Rome 85 New York 80 Seoul 74 Outer Tokyo / 3 S. Kanto Prefs. 73 Berlin 68 Tokyo 23 Wards 55 Source: National census of each country As a result of the shrinking inner city population and the expanding suburbs, train commuters to Tokyo's 3 central wards spend an average of 70 minutes in transit each way. The total time these 2.27 million commuters to Tokyo's 3 central wards spend in transit (140 minutes round trip per person per day) in a year (235 working days) is equivalent to roughly 26% of the total hours worked by the 2.53 million workers in mid-Tokyo, which converts to 7.4 trillion yen in GDP. Average Time Spent Commuting by Train (One Way) 3 subcentral wards 3 central wards 1985 63 67 1990 65 69 1995 67 70 Source: Transportation Census of the Major Cities 3 central wards: Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato 3 subcentral wards: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Toshima

	FAR usage in central Tokyo Gross Net Chiyoda Ward 172 307 Chuo Ward 180 411 Minato Ward 145 244 Shinjuku Ward 138 213 Yamanote Line Area 141 220 Based on Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Policy and Information, "Tokyo no tochi riyou (Land Use in Tokyo)," 1999 Tokyo's 4 central wards Manhattan Place your cursor on the district names in the graphs on the left for an indication of the areas represented. As these graphs indicate, not implementing intensive land use has contributed to Tokyo becoming an inefficient city. Floor area ratio (FAR) usages in Tokyo's 4 central wards are far lower than those of Manhattan--Tokyo is a vertically depopulated city. FAR usage in Manhattan Gross Net Upper East Side (portion) 394 631 Upper West Side (portion) 65 578 Midtown (portion) 875 1421 Based on the 1992-93 Sanborn Map Gross is the ratio to total land area; net, to land zoned for housing

	From Mid-Tokyo Maps #02 "How Big is Tokyo" Narrow streets and small city blocks are cited as a reason for slow development in intensive land use in central Tokyo. Remedying this requires rearranging small streets, reorganizing city blocks, and integrating building lots. Shinbashi District 0.1ha Manhattan 0.45~1.5ha

	Foreign Company Survey Tokyo Municipal Planning Council, "The attractiveness and problems of Tokyo for foreign-owned companies," 1994 Population Densities Japan Statistical Association, "1995 Population Census" (Tokyo) "Community District Needs, The City of New York" "Regional Trends33, 1998" (London) "Regions Francaises 1990" (Paris) "Hong Kong Yearbook of Statistics 1996" "Singapore Census of Population 1990" "Shanghai Yearbook of Statistics" Languages "The CIA World Factbook 2000" GDP Tokyo Municipal Government, "1998 Tokyo Citizens Economic Annual Report" NYC Office of Management and Budget, "Report on Current Economic Conditions" "Regional Trends Dataset 1998, UK Gross Domestic Product at Base Prices" Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques, "Les produits interieurs bruts regionaux en 1998" "China Statistical Yearbook 1999" Cost of Living Big Mac Index Doctor/Hospital Bed Numbers "Kisoiau asia no toshi (Competing Asian Cities) "Sekkai no daitoshi (Major World Cities) 2000" Office for National Statistics, "Population Mid-1999" (London) Total Available Hospital Beds in London in 1999 Government Support/GNP and Education Kokuseisha, "Sekai kokusei zukai (World Census Illustrated)" 2000/2001 Park Area per Person Tokyo Municipal Government, "Tokyo Toshi Hakusho (Tokyo City White Paper) 2000" Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department Shanghai City Statistics Bureau, "1998 Shanghai Statistical Yearbook" Housing Unit Floor Areas "Sekkai no Daitoshi (Major World Cities) 2000" National Census of Each Country Crime Rates Kokuseisha, "Sekai kokusei zukai (World Census Illustrated)" 2000/2001 "The Hong Kong Yearbook 1999" "Yearbook of Statistics Singapore, 2000"

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