What life in Tokyo will be like in 100 years

I’m currently reading a book originally written in Japanese by Yoko Tawada called “Kentoshi.” In English it’s called the “The Last Children of Tokyo.” I have only just started reading the book but I think it gives an idea of what Tokyo could be like in 100 years. The book starts with an elderly man living in the city. The population has drastically aged and stores and many services cater to the elderly and their needs. I am not sure how the book will end but it doesn’t exactly seem like it will have a happy ending.

I have lived in Tokyo for 4 years now. I have grown to like it, being a farm girl myself, and I will continue living here for the indefinite future. So, I hope that at least the beginning of Ms. Tawada’s novel won’t come true and that there is a future for this metropolis I now call my home.

My guess is that in about 10 years or so the amount of immigrants moving to Tokyo will have started to change how multicultural the city feels and that will be a big change for Tokyoites. There might be more than just Little Korea in Shin-Okubo and Little India in Nishi-Kasai. There may be a Little Italy or Filipinotown in the future as well. So in 100 years from now there might be many well-established ethnic areas in the city.

Linked to that, I think the once mono-cultural society will have changed into something much like what has happened in other parts of the world. In the future, being Japanese ethnically and being a Japanese citizen will be two differently distinguished things.

By the time it’s 2119, I think most of the world will have moved away from paperback books and notebooks. However, I think in Japan, there will still be value in having physical copies of documents or of one’s favorite books. Japanese culture cherishes what is real and tangible and I don’t think that will change in the future either.

I think the metropolis will have continued to grow vertically and the once towering Sky Tree will be just a small sightseeing spot. I think there will be a lot more apartment complexes with people working, living, and shopping there. They will never have to go outside of their actual building if they don’t want to. As we can already see in some places like Roppongi Hills, movie theatres, offices, and parks and any other need someone might have will be easily accessed in the same area. There might actually be new terms and languages used for living in these types of places.

Lastly, I am not sure if this would happen or not but I think there will be a part of the population that will reject modern technology and worldly cultures and have a strong desire to go back to more traditional times. With an influx of foreign influences some may search for something that is truly Japanese and they will spend their time or even their lives learning what that is once again.

Laura

Vocabulary

drastically (adv.) ? in a way that is likely to have a strong or far-reaching effect
cater (v) ? to provide what is needed or required
indefinite (adj.) ? lasting for an unknown or unstated length of time
tangible (adj.) ? something that is real and that can be seen, touched, or measured