Japan's capital Tôkyô and its airports: problems and prospects from subnational and supranational perspectives

This paper deals with air passenger traffic and airport competition in Japan and East and Southeast Asia. The focus is on the airports serving Tôkyô, and the question whether they will be able to meet the future transport needs of a ‘global city’. The concentration of the paper is on two topics: an analysis of the position of the capital region airports within the Japanese airport hierarchy and an examination of the competition between Tôkyô and the major metropolitan airports in East and Southeast Asia. The paper provides insights into the basic problems and perspectives of Japanese airport policies, the current conflicts concerning the goals and strategies of airport development in Tôkyô and the complex interests of key actors.