Tokyo is the world’s (second) “most livable city”

Monocle magazine makes a list of the world’s most livable cities every year.

Tokyo is ranked number 2 on the list behind Copenhagen, Denmark.

In fact, three Japanese cities, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Fukuoka are on the top ten.

Six of the other seven cities on the top ten most livable cities in the world are European.

The criteria used to judge the most livable cities were:
economics, society, functionality, everyday living, happiness of people, crime rate, health care, public schools, public transportation, access to nature, culture, sunlight/climate, number of electronic vehicle charging spots, ease of starting a new business and tolerance.

Here is Monocle‘s list of the top ten most livable cities in the world:

1. Copenhagen, Denmark
2. Tokyo, Japan
3. Melbourne, Australia
4. Stockholm, Sweden
5. Helsinki, Finland
6. Vienna, Austria
7. Zürich, Switzerland
8. Munich, Germany
9. Kyoto, Japan
10. Fukuoka, Japan

新聞より

Yesterday I read the newspaper while I was riding the train.

A few stories made an impression on me (let me know if you’ve heard any of this news…and what you think!):

1. At the Six Flags amusement park in Georgia, USA, a 17-year old boy climbed two fences that surrounded the perimeter of a roller-coaster ride.
   He went in there to get his hat or something…and the roller coaster hit him and decapitated him!
   I was shocked to read this…but, then again, I’ve read quite a few stories about tragedies at amusement parks. That’s why I’m always hesitant to let my kids go to one with their friends (I let them go…but I’m always nervous about it).
2. Many countries are sending their Olympic teams to Japan to practice for the upcoming Olympics in 北京 (Beijing) rather than have them practice in 中国 (China).
   This is because, the newspaper said, many countries are concerned about air pollution, food safety, and political tension in China.
   Also, they said, Japan has good training facilities.
3. Tokyo is the largest city in the world. And it’s the most densely populated (Tokyo has 36 million people…nearly double the population of New York City. There are more people in Tokyo than in all of Canada!)
   But, despite Tokyo’s large population…this city was recently voted the third most livable city in the world by the London magazine Monocle!
   Copenhagen and Munich were voted first and second respectively…but those two cities have only just over one million people. Tokyo has nearly 36 times as many residents…but the magazine says Tokyo is “a big city getting the basics right”.
   The link to the Monocle magazine’s article is here (they require a paid subscription to read the entire article…but you can see the headline for free 😦 (whatever)).