A Review of Recent Transportation Geography in Japan

Abstract

The purposes of this study are to summarize the achievements of recent transportation geography in Japan since 1990s and to reconsider the changing trends based on socioeconomic changes in Japan. Additionally, issues which should be addressed by transportation geographers are reviewed. Most recent studies of transportation geography have concerned automobile transportation and regional public transportation. Many studies on automobile transportation have been found in Japanese transportation geography: diffusion of motorization and its effect on regional structure until the mid-1990s, and the effect of transportation infrastructure, including highways, until the mid-2000s. Meanwhile, micro-scale studies on regional public transportation have increased since the early 2000s. In other words, the interest of Japanese transportation geography has shifted from the positive effects of transportation to the issues confronting regional public transportation. The following can be pointed out as factors of the change: drastic socioeconomic changes since the 1990s such as a protracted recession, an easing of regulations, and an aging society. Transportation geographers are needed to address the following issues. The first is the construction and operation of flexible types of transportation, such as DRT (Demand Responsive Transportation), to correspond to regional characteristics from a short-term standpoint. The second issue is improvements in the regional structure, including spatial distribution of the population and essential facilities from a long-term standpoint. An approach from a transportation geography perspective is important for resolving the issues on public transportation with consideration of regional characteristics.