Photo/Illutration Tokyo is ranked third in the Global Power City Index survey for 2022. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Tokyo maintained its third-place position in the Global Power City Index survey, but its score fell because of travel restrictions during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

London ranked first and New York City placed second, both for the 11th consecutive year, among the 48 cities surveyed, according to 2022 results announced on Dec. 14.

The Japanese capital was third for the seventh straight year with slightly more points than Paris, which will host the 2024 Olympic Games.

“The question is how Tokyo can invite people from overseas,” said Hiroo Ichikawa, executive director of the Institute for Urban Strategies at the Mori Memorial Foundation, which organized the survey.

“Tokyo should expand airport capacity and clearly state where international visitors can go to have fun,” Ichikawa said.

The foundation was established by major urban developer Mori Building Co. The annual index was started in 2008 to help cities with their policymaking and business activities.

The rankings are calculated through scores in 70 indexes across six categories: economy; research and development; cultural interaction; livability; environment; and accessibility.

Cities that were slow to welcome back overseas visitors due to COVID-19 measures saw their scores drop this year. Tokyo was among them.

Tokyo was downgraded in such indexes as number of foreign visitors and air passengers.

It also lost points in what had been its strong indexes, including number of researchers and number of restaurants, compared with 2018.

For the environment, Tokyo ranked 13th, up four places, in what has been its weakest index.

This was the only index in which Tokyo ranked higher than in the previous year, and it was made possible after Japan raised its emissions reduction target for 2030 from 30 percent to 50 percent compared with the 2000 level.

The Japanese capital also gained points for its increased number of hotel rooms thanks to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

In a separate questionnaire survey conducted by the institute, Tokyo ranked second after only New York among “cities where nonresidents want to work.”

The institute said it is rare for a high-ranked city to move forward with simultaneous redevelopment in several areas of its center. It said this would be Tokyo’s strong point in the future.

However, Ichikawa said Tokyo’s urban functions are falling because of sluggish growth in Japan’s economy and other factors.

Global Power City Index Comprehensive Ranking 2022

1 (1) London

2 (2) New York City

3 (3) Tokyo

4 (4) Paris

5 (5) Singapore

6 (6) Amsterdam

7 (8) Seoul

8 (7) Berlin

9 (11) Melbourne

10 (10) Shanghai

(Figures in parentheses indicate rankings in previous year)

Related News