Urbanization in China or 37 percent of the total population in the mid-1980s—was relatively low by comparison with developed nations, the number of people living in urban areas in China was greater than the total population of any country in the world except India. The four Chinese cities with the largest populations in 1985 were Shanghai, with 7 million; Beijing, with 5.9 million; Tianjin, with 5.4 million; and Shenyang, with 4.2 million. The disproportionate distribution of population in large cities occurred as a result of the government's emphasis after 1949 on the development of large cities over smaller urban areas. In 1985 the
Largest cities in Japan by population by decade Meiji Mergers" cut the number of municipalities in Japan by more than three quarters, while dramatically increasing the size of many cities as they absorbed their surrounding towns and villages. Source data is from the 1891 Imperial Japanese Registered Household Report (日本帝国民籍戸口表). Source data is from the 1898 Imperial Japanese Population Statistics (日本帝国人口統計). Source data is from the 1908 Imperial Japanese Population Statistics (日本帝国人口統計). Source data is from the 1920 Census (国勢調査), the first formal census to be taken in Japan. Source data is from the 1930 Census. Source data is from the 1940 Census. Japan emerged from the Second