Ever since ditching car culture and joining the urbanist cause (on the internet at least but that has to change), I’ve noticed that some countries always top the list when it comes to good urbanism. The first and most oblivious one tends to be The Netherlands but Germany and Japan also come pretty close. But that’s strange considering that both countries have huge car industries. Germany is (arguably) the birthplace of the car (Benz Patent-Motorwagen) and is home to Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Japan is home to Toyota, Honda, Nissan and among others. How is it that these countries have been able to keep the auto lobby at bay and continue investing in their infrastructure?
One factor that may ‘help’ japan in getting less car-centric over time is that the japanese rural areas and the smallest rank of cities are basically depopulating (dying out), with young people (and not so young too) moving to large cities and metropolises (like Tokyo). So, more % of japanese people will live in the not car-centric areas. Tourism will of course exist for some rural and small urban areas, but that occasional use can be served by short term car rentals.