Nipponica

The continuing development of Tokyo's railway infrastructure is fueling further growth of the capital's sprawling metropolitan area, solidifying its status as the world's largest with 37 million people -- about a third of Japan's total population.

The railway network growth has facilitated Tokyo's outward spread, attracting more people from rural regions to urban centers. The ongoing development includes investments in railways and redevelopment projects, with the future completion of the super fast Linear Chuo Shinkansen maglev line promising even faster commuting options, such as from Nagoya in central Japan to Tokyo.

Since the 2000s, redevelopment has led to a resurgence of migration to central Tokyo. The Greater Tokyo area, encompassing Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama, continues to expand both outward and inward.

Love the shoutout to Tsukuba and the Tsukuba Express commute as the example of urban growth in the Greater Tokyo region. TX forever!

A cable car connecting the middle section and top of Mt. Tsukuba in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, celebrated 100 years of operation on Sunday.

The cable car is an indispensable means of transportation for more than 400,000 tourists visiting the mountain each year, but it was once discontinued during war because it was considered unnecessary. Tsukuba Scenic Railway Co., the operator of the cable car, says it hopes that visitors will feel the history of the long-loved cable car.

The 1,634-meter-long cable car line links Miyawaki Station at an altitude of 305 meters above the sea level and Tsukuba-sancho Station near the top of Mt. Nantai, with a one-way trip taking about eight minutes.

A salute to an icon from my hometown.

When meeting Jon Heese for the first time, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve run into Bill Clinton. He often jokes that his resemblance to the former U.S. president is what won him his first election in Japan. However, Heese hails from farther north: the vast plains of Saskatchewan, Canada.

“I grew up in a small village where I could see the horizon 50 kilometers away,” he says. “Saskatchewan residents joke that they can see their dog running away for three days.”

Ibaraki is lush by comparison. Heese, 62, gushes about its flowers in spring, plus locally grown fresh fruit and vegetables all year round. “Tsukuba is especially beautiful with more than 400 parks as well as majestic Mount Tsukuba guarding our city.”

He might be biased, considering he was elected as a Tsukuba municipal assemblyman for four terms, from 2008 to 2014 and again from 2016 until 2022, when he was elected to the Ibaraki Prefectural Assembly on his second attempt, after coming close in 2014. This makes Heese one of the very few foreign-born politicians in Japan.

As a former Tsukuba resident, I met Jon once and he is a good model on how a foreign-born person can make an impact in Japanese politics.