OSAKAS TOKYO PROBLEM

Osakans, when queried about the most important issues facing their city, invariably launch into a discussion of the 'Tokyo problem', by which they mean the problem Tokyo's primacy in national affairs creates for other cities in Japan. In this paper we document Tokyo's functional primacy and the shift of industry and central management functions from the Kansai region, where Osaka is located, to Kanto, Tokyo's regional home. We then survey western theories of world city development in search of an explanation for Osaka's Tokyo problem. We conclude that explaining the Japanese experience requires emphasizing the role of the state in world city development.