‘New Kid In Town’ This was a hit number by the American rock band The Eagles, released in 1976 and reached number one in the US. The title of today’s article is named as an anagram of it.
Around the same time that the Eagles were making their debut and becoming well-known throughout the USA, Japan was in the midst of a housing construction boom in preparation for a new era. Large-scale housing developments and new towns were being built one after another in the neighbourhoods of major cities.
The 1960s and 1970s were a vibrant time in Japan, symbolised by the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and the Osaka International Exposition in 1970.
The successive development of new products and the emergence of previously unheard of service industries gave people a sense that a new era had arrived, which was even bringing about changes in housing environments and lifestyles.
‘Tama New Town’ was planned to be the largest new town development in Japan during these times. It is located in the western direction of Tokyo.
Tokyo has the image of a big city, but if you go to the western edge of the metropolitan area, it is quite rural, surrounded by mountains. Tama New Town was built in the middle of the urban and mountainous areas of central Tokyo.
It was planned and developed as a city with a total area of 2,800 ha and a population of 200,000 inhabitants, carving out a hilly area where nothing existed before. Naturally, in addition to housing, various infrastructures necessary for daily life were introduced, such as supermarkets, schools and government offices.
At the time, land prices in urban areas had already skyrocketed, causing serious housing difficulties.
People were excited by the development of new towns, which were close to urban areas where they worked and offered a modern housing environment at a low cost, and were quick to draw lots to move in.
Here is a video of the housing development at the time.
And here is a video showing how people moved in.
You can see people full of hope and dreams of their new lives.
The desire to move in continued to grow and the town continued to enhance and expand. However…
It has already been 50 years since the first tenants moved in.
The people who moved in at that time are now in their 80s.
The kids who used to play with bright eyes are now of retirement age.
Lifestyles have changed as time has progressed, and the number of new tenants has continued to decline, reflecting the declining birth rate and ageing population.
If the town is unable to make a financial balance, the renewal of facilities tends to stagnate, and the town and its people are facing a wave of ageing.
The government and the Corporation are trying to improve the town efficiently and attract new tenants, but the future is unclear.
The Eagles’ ‘New Kid In Town’ was a song about newcomers and fads that show up in town and one day leave, but the problems of economic stagnation, falling birthrates and ageing populations facing Japan and many other developed countries is the decline of the town or country itself.
The Eagles themselves are now more than 50 years since their debut, and many of the members have aged. Their leader, Glenn Frey, is already a resident of heaven.
But still they continue to shine.
The song assets they have left behind are not only those of their fans who have continued to love them, but have also evoked a new movement.
Trends and the momentum of an era will eventually fade, but we should be looking for certain things that are less susceptible to the decline of the times.
If society is too preoccupied with immediate events and only chases temporary economic effects, a long future will not come…