It's not unique to Japan: many other Asian cities exhibit dynamic, multi-polar cities and extraordinary continuous density. > 1- Zoning is a national law, not

It's not unique to Japan: many other Asian cities exhibit dynamic, multi-polar cities and extraordinary continuous density. > 1- Zoning is a national law, not a municipal by-law This is pretty much it.The fact that strong central governments can ensure good density and growth means that Asian cities are growing as needed to serve the national economic agenda. In the West, particularly Europe and the US, cities are ruled by local municipal powers who all have strong incentives to stop growth and increase prices/rents. There's really no mystery here.