A new report from the Economist Intelligence Unit reveals that many cities have become less livable since the worldwide economic downturn in 2009. However, the cities that ranked high were almost the same as in past years, showing that once a high level of livability is achieved, it can usually be maintained. The reverse is also the case — unlivable cities have an increasingly hard time improving. Japanese cities need to learn from both categories.
It is perhaps no surprise that midsize cities in richer countries with low population density are regularly ranked as the most livable. No Japanese city reached the higher ranks.
However, Japanese cities were also less livable because of low levels of culture and leisure activities, as well as crowded infrastructure. Even parts of life like education, which received a relatively positive score in Tokyo, for example, remains expensive for most people.