During the latter half of 20th century, Japan experienced an incomparable rapid population increase and urbanization. Now Japan is facing the turning point of a population decrease and a super-aged society, something it has never before experienced. These are mostly the end results of the demographic transition made mainly during the period 1925 to 1950. The transitional generation had more than four siblings and many of them migrated to metropolitan areas, except maybe for eldest sons who traditionally inherit their parent’s “family line”. Those who came to the metropolis got married there and moved to the suburbs, bringing up just two children and realizing the urban lifestyle. The children of the transitional generation, the post-transitional generation, have tended to delay their marriage and have tended to leave home after becoming financially independent of their parents. Their behavior has had much influence on the change of the population structure and the differentiation in residences. As a consequence, there are increasing numbers of suburban residential areas where almost all residents are aged. In the future, the suburbs will be more diverse in terms of the population and family structure. However, the difficulties which suburban communities actually experience need to be properly recognized and solutions sought based on the resources existing in communities to realize innovative governance.

The 21st century center of excellence program "Policy innovation initiative: human security research in Japan and Asia"