This study analyzed the population structure in terms of generational balance and classifying the municipalities in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. For this purpose, a newly developed index, the Generation Balance Index, was employed to describe the balance of the second generation in relation to the first generation who had first inhabited this area after WWII. By comparing the generational balances of populations between 1980 and 2000, it becomes clear that the Tokyo Metropolitan Area is not homogenous, not even in the suburbs. From a micro-scale analysis, it became clear that extreme population imbalance existed in the studied districts across detached-owned housing districts, apartment housing developments, and business and commercial districts near stations; moreover, the farming districts and suburbs exhibit mosaic diversity. This phenomenon was not apparent at the macro level. This study indicates that community-based policies will have higher priorities than now. The results of this study provide a base for making suburban policies for the aged and for communities. And the methods used in this study offer analytical framework of policy management; problem-finding, problem-analyzing, and policy-transference in suburbs facing transition.

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