Population of Tokyo
The population of Tokyo, or Tokyoites as they are affectionately known, is a figure that still leaves me trying to comprehend the numbers - even though I live here.
Tokyo Population
The official figures released by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, as of October 1st 2007, state that in Tokyo itself, there are 12.790 million people. That's 10% of Japan's total population. When I first heard these figures I was a little sceptical as I expected it be much higher. Still - I was suitably in awe when I realized that those 12.790 million people all lived in an area of 2,187 km² - that's just 0.6% of the total land area of Japan... yes the whole of Japan.
To break that figure down, in every 1km² area of Tokyo, there are, give or take, 5,847 people. It comes as little surprise that this is the most densely populated prefecture in Japan.
It doesn't end there though. There is such a thing as Greater Tokyo, the Tokyo Megalopolis Region, which is considered to be the true catchment area of Tokyo as people commute for up to 2 hours to work in the city. This area consists of Tokyo and her nextdoor neighbours - Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama. Now we're talking over 35 million people.
Of a total population of approximately 130 million people, 26% live in the Greater Tokyo area. That's quite a lot of people!
Foreign Residents in Tokyo
So how many non-Japanese residents play a part in these numbers? The population of Tokyo consists of 386,000 foreign residents - not that many really. Actually, my fella always gets a shock when we travel back to the UK or to other countries outside Japan. In Tokyo I am easy to spot with my blonde hair - most Tokyoites sport a much darker colour and he gets used to being able to find me in a crowd with little difficulty!
Figures taken from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government website, May 2008
