Presentation Information
[O12-P38]Comparison of Urayasu City in Chiba Prefecture as a “Black Hole Municipality” with Surrounding Municipalities
*Mai Kaneyoshi1 (1. Ichikawa high school)
Keywords:
Urayasu City in Chiba Prefecture,Black Hole Municipality
Urayasu City, located in the northwestern part of Chiba Prefecture, functions as a bedroom town for people who work in central Tokyo (Urayasu City, 1990). It has also been classified as a “Black Hole Municipality” by the Population Strategy Council (2024). This type of municipality depends mainly on people moving in from other areas for population growth, and it has a very low birth rate. There are 25 such municipalities in Japan.
Since Urayasu is a bedroom town in the Tokyo metropolitan area, it does not have a problem with people moving in. Therefore, being a Black Hole Municipality may not necessarily be a problem. However, it may still be important to focus on childcare policies to make up for the low birth rate. The purpose of this study is to find out whether this characteristic is a problem or a strength.
For comparison, this study selected 32 municipalities as research areas. These include municipalities within a 15 km radius of Tokyo Station, “Self-sufficient and sustainable municipalities”, and Chiba City. Specifically, the areas include Kawaguchi, Soka, and Yashio in Saitama Prefecture; Chiba, Ichikawa, Matsudo, Nagareyama, Urayasu, and Inzai in Chiba Prefecture; and the 23 wards of Tokyo. “Self-sufficient and sustainable municipalities” are defined by the Population Strategy Council as areas with high sustainability. In the Tokyo metropolitan area, Inzai and Nagareyama are classified as such.
This study used three types of analysis. First, a map-based comparison was conducted to examine whether these areas have similar characteristics as bedroom towns. Second, cluster analysis (Ward’s method) was used to group the municipalities. The analysis was conducted using a website created by Professor Yuki Aoki of Gunma University. Third, after grouping, childcare support policies, especially home-visit support services for families with children, were compared among the clusters, focusing on their availability, cost, and duration. In addition, national and prefectural childcare policies were also reviewed.
Furthermore, to examine the impact of Tokyo Disney Resort on Urayasu, changes in the city’s revenue and expenditure were analyzed before and after the opening of Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.
The results showed that Black Hole Municipalities are mainly located in the western suburbs of central Tokyo. In many of these areas, the ratio of daytime to nighttime population is low, which means they function as bedroom towns. The cluster most similar to Urayasu included Bunkyo, Shibuya, Meguro, and Suginami wards in Tokyo.
From comparing these areas, two main characteristics of Urayasu were found. First, much of the land is lowland and reclaimed land, meaning that the city is relatively new. Second, most of its tax revenue comes from local taxes. The financial data showed that a few years after the opening of Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, the city’s financial scale increased. This suggests that Tokyo Disney Resort has contributed to the city’s strong finances.
In terms of childcare policies, the cost and duration of home-visit support services differed among municipalities, so no clear pattern was found for each group. However, Tokyo had more developed and unique childcare support compared to Chiba and Saitama.
Based on these results, even if a municipality is classified as a “Black Hole Municipality”, it can still function well as a bedroom town. Therefore, this classification can be seen as a strength for Urayasu. In addition, Urayasu has similar characteristics and childcare policies to Tokyo’s municipalities. However, differences in prefectural-level policies may affect the birth rate. Also, the increase in revenue after the opening of Tokyo Disney Resort suggests that Urayasu has developed a financially independent system and improved its welfare services.
In conclusion, Urayasu has similar strengths to municipalities in Tokyo and has well-developed childcare policies. However, differences in policies at the prefectural level may influence its low birth rate.
Since Urayasu is a bedroom town in the Tokyo metropolitan area, it does not have a problem with people moving in. Therefore, being a Black Hole Municipality may not necessarily be a problem. However, it may still be important to focus on childcare policies to make up for the low birth rate. The purpose of this study is to find out whether this characteristic is a problem or a strength.
For comparison, this study selected 32 municipalities as research areas. These include municipalities within a 15 km radius of Tokyo Station, “Self-sufficient and sustainable municipalities”, and Chiba City. Specifically, the areas include Kawaguchi, Soka, and Yashio in Saitama Prefecture; Chiba, Ichikawa, Matsudo, Nagareyama, Urayasu, and Inzai in Chiba Prefecture; and the 23 wards of Tokyo. “Self-sufficient and sustainable municipalities” are defined by the Population Strategy Council as areas with high sustainability. In the Tokyo metropolitan area, Inzai and Nagareyama are classified as such.
This study used three types of analysis. First, a map-based comparison was conducted to examine whether these areas have similar characteristics as bedroom towns. Second, cluster analysis (Ward’s method) was used to group the municipalities. The analysis was conducted using a website created by Professor Yuki Aoki of Gunma University. Third, after grouping, childcare support policies, especially home-visit support services for families with children, were compared among the clusters, focusing on their availability, cost, and duration. In addition, national and prefectural childcare policies were also reviewed.
Furthermore, to examine the impact of Tokyo Disney Resort on Urayasu, changes in the city’s revenue and expenditure were analyzed before and after the opening of Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.
The results showed that Black Hole Municipalities are mainly located in the western suburbs of central Tokyo. In many of these areas, the ratio of daytime to nighttime population is low, which means they function as bedroom towns. The cluster most similar to Urayasu included Bunkyo, Shibuya, Meguro, and Suginami wards in Tokyo.
From comparing these areas, two main characteristics of Urayasu were found. First, much of the land is lowland and reclaimed land, meaning that the city is relatively new. Second, most of its tax revenue comes from local taxes. The financial data showed that a few years after the opening of Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, the city’s financial scale increased. This suggests that Tokyo Disney Resort has contributed to the city’s strong finances.
In terms of childcare policies, the cost and duration of home-visit support services differed among municipalities, so no clear pattern was found for each group. However, Tokyo had more developed and unique childcare support compared to Chiba and Saitama.
Based on these results, even if a municipality is classified as a “Black Hole Municipality”, it can still function well as a bedroom town. Therefore, this classification can be seen as a strength for Urayasu. In addition, Urayasu has similar characteristics and childcare policies to Tokyo’s municipalities. However, differences in prefectural-level policies may affect the birth rate. Also, the increase in revenue after the opening of Tokyo Disney Resort suggests that Urayasu has developed a financially independent system and improved its welfare services.
In conclusion, Urayasu has similar strengths to municipalities in Tokyo and has well-developed childcare policies. However, differences in policies at the prefectural level may influence its low birth rate.