(a) Outline any four factors that led to the high population density in Japan (b) State three problems of the high population density in Japan (c) How are t...

Answer Details

(a) Four factors that led to the high population density in Japan

1. Extensive coastal lowlands and plains: Although Japan is largely mountainous, the limited flat land such as the Kanto, Nobi and Kinki plains concentrates settlement, industry and farming, forcing very high densities onto the small habitable portion.
2. Highly developed industry and commerce: Japan is one of the world leading industrial nations (vehicles, electronics, iron and steel, shipbuilding). The abundance of factory and service jobs in cities like Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama attracts and holds a large population.
3. Intensive and productive agriculture: The fertile alluvial soils, favourable monsoon rainfall and intensive rice cultivation (double cropping, terracing) support a dense rural population on very little land.
4. Excellent transport and long history of settlement: A dense network of railways, expressways and ports links the crowded core regions, while long-established urban centres have grown continuously over centuries, adding to concentration.

Other acceptable points: good fishing grounds offshore, high standard of living and medical care giving long life expectancy, and government concentration of development in the coastal belt.

(b) Three problems of the high population density in Japan

1. Housing shortage and overcrowding in the large cities, leading to very small dwellings, high rents and pressure on land.
2. Heavy pressure on land for farming, industry and building, causing high land prices and reclamation of the sea.
3. Traffic congestion and environmental pollution (air and water) arising from dense industry and heavy commuter movement in the urban regions.

Also acceptable: strain on social services and disposal of waste.

(c) How these problems are being solved

• Building of high-rise blocks of flats and reclaiming land from the sea to create more space for housing and industry.
• Construction of efficient mass-transit systems such as the bullet train (Shinkansen) and city subways to ease congestion.
• Decentralisation of industry and population to smaller towns and new towns to reduce pressure on the core cities.
• Strict pollution-control laws and the encouragement of family planning to check further rapid growth.