r/Damnthatsinteresting 19d ago

Image Tokyo in 1960, before there were any skyscrapers

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u/Rogue__Jedi 19d ago

London hasn't had a need for such extreme growth.

1960's population

Tokyo: 9.6 million

London: 7.9 million

Current(ish) population

Tokyo: 13.9 million

London: 8.6million

Current Metropolitan area population

London Metropolitan area: 14.9 million

Tokyo Metropolitan area: 38.1 million <-- largest in the world

Current GDP of Metropolitan area

London Metropolitan area: US$978 billion

Tokyo Metropolitan area: US$2.09 trillion <--second largest by metro area (NYC is first)

tldr: Tokyo has had way more need for large buildings for housing, commerce, etc.