ON THE CHANGEOVER OF FORMER MILITARY BASES TO INDUSTRIAL SITES IN THE KANTO DISTRICT

Abstract

In Japan where the capitalist system developed in support of the military econmy, the principle of military priority was also applied to the use of land, and so lands suitable for the construction of factories were often removed from private use and used for military purposes. With the end of World War II, the large military establishments were released for public use, and there has been a tendency for these sites to be utilized for such uses as the building of factories. In Japan the former military bases have come to be used, as the property of the national government, bor contributing to the economic development in the post-War period. In the Kanto District, there were about 1, 100 military establishments accounting for about 430km2. Of this area, today 44% is used as farmlands, 30% for public establishments or services, 14% for American military uses, 8% for use of the Japanese Defense Agency and the remaining 4% for factory sites. There were 38 military airbases for the defense of the capital area within 20-60 km of Tokyo, and if the former military training grounds are also included, then these former establishments comprise a very large and flat area well-suited for the establishment of large-scale factories and industrial tracts. Therefore :since 1950, there has been an increasing tendency for just such developments. Also the former military bases which had been converted into farmlands are now being changed over into factory sites, and today 33% of these farmlands are designated as suitable sites for factories.