Contrasts in suburban decline: a tale of three key outer suburban “Business Core Cities” in Tokyo Metropolis

The overall context of decline in the polycentric suburban territory of Tokyo Metropolis contains divergent trajectories of municipal change. The key outer suburban centers of Tachikawa, Hachioji, and Ome City have different trajectories of socio-demographic, economic, and political and administrative (fiscal) change. This paper explores the mechanisms underlying their different trajectories to reveal the likely diversity of experiences. We reveal that their different trajectories have been materialized mainly by local or intra-suburban differentiations of inter-governmental, inter-sectoral, and inter-actor dynamics. Different strategies have thus emerged in the policy domain of industrial and commercial promotion. Recognition of the importance of suburban economic development tends to be delayed for municipal governments and differentiation in strategies possibly results in difficulties in promoting inter-municipal collaborations in this policy domain. We thus emphasize the necessity of integrating industrial and commercial promotion strategies in both vertical and horizontal dimensions of government to avert further suburban shrinkage.