Chess in China 1998. Karpov's second visit took him to Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai and Guangzhou – four of the five largest cities in China. He also took the opportunity to launch the Chinese edition of his book "Disney's Guide to Chess" and appeared to autograph his books at major bookstores in each city he visited. There were 20,000 copies for the first printing and more than half were sold within one week of his visit. Karpov played a total of five exhibitions and once again, the immense publicity raised the interest of chess to another level. At present, in terms of media publicity,
Largest cities in Japan by population by decade cities proper. Source data is from the 2000 Census. In the mid-2000s, another series of municipal mergers was enacted. The "Great Heisei Mergers" nearly halved the number of municipalities in Japan, once again increasing the size of some cities significantly and creating new towns and cities. Despite a mounting population loss in rural areas and some smaller cities, Japan's major cities continue to grow. Source date is from the 2010 Census. Largest cities in Japan by population by decade This article lists the ten most populous cities in Japan by decade, starting after the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The first