Tokyo Named Third Most “Magnetic” City

Society

A Decade of City Watching

In October 2017, Tokyo was named the third most “magnetic” city in the world based on its power to attract creative individuals and enterprises. The Global Power City Index, published by the Mori Memorial Foundation, ranked 44 major cities in 2017, its tenth year.

Cities are scored for six functions: economy, research and development, cultural interaction, livability, environment, and accessibility. Over the years, the survey has broadened to cover more cities—up from 30 in 2008—but London, New York, Paris, and Tokyo have consistently appeared in the top four. After eight years in fourth place, in 2016 Tokyo overtook Paris to rise to third, the position it maintained in 2017.

There has been a noticeable trend toward Asia in the top 10 list. In 2008, Vienna, Boston, Los Angeles, and Toronto all featured, but in 2017 they were replaced by Singapore, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Sydney.

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Tourists and Flight Connections

Increased tourism over the past decade has boosted Tokyo’s overall ranking. More foreign visitors and tourist-related facilities have pushed up its score for cultural interaction and more international flight connections have improved its accessibility. It has also achieved a higher score for livability, although this was still its worst function in 2017, with a ranking of 14.

After dominating the economy function for six years as the top city, Tokyo fell to fourth in 2017. This was partly due to the weaker yen. Tokyo will need to maintain its economic strength to remain competitive in the index, but it has drawn closer to New York in the overall ranking, and may possibly rise to second in future listings.

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