Progress in Japanese population geography: Retrospect and prospect

Abstract

This paper reviews the existing literature on Japanese population geography since 2000 by major population topics, including projection, birth/death, migration, distribution, and household/marriage. Among these themes, migration studies (in particular, internal migration) still occupy a considerable proportion. The increase of GIS-based investigations is worthy of attention. Concerning the contribution of Japanese population geography as a whole, the following two things can be demonstrated. First, some Japanese population geographers have published major works in prestigious English foreign journals and have eagerly pursued international comparisons or joint studies with foreign researchers. Second, much of the research presumably deals with the manifold empirical aspects of the geographical impacts of Japan's population decline. Finally, a few problems concerning the existing literature are also mentioned.