Economy

Sendai is the center of the Tohoku region's economy, and is the base of the region's logistics and transportation. The city's economy heavily relies upon retail and services - the two industries provide approximately two thirds of the employment and close to half of the establishments.

Sendai is frequently called a branch office economy, because very few major companies are headquartered in the city. Various authorities are cooperating to alleviate this problem, primarily by encouraging high-tech ventures from Tohoku University, which is well-known for its science and engineering departments. Several high-profile projects, such as the Sendai-Finland Wellbeing Center, have emerged from these attempts, but tangible results in the city's economy and employment are yet to be seen.

JR Sendai Station is the center of transportation in the city. The station is served by 8 JR lines and is a major station for the Tohoku and Akita Shinkansen lines. An underground passage connects the station to the Subway Sendai Station.

Sendai has a North-South subway line, one of the most expensive in Japan with a basic fare starting at 200 yen. The city is starting the construction of an East-West line, scheduled for completion in 2014. The East-West line has been criticized for being excessively costly, based upon extremely optimistic estimates, and hostile to the natural environment. Proponents maintain that the new subway line is necessary to prevent urban sprawl, will decrease the city's environmental load by encouraging use of public transportation, and is based upon adequate estimates. The Sendai Shimin Ombudsman has filed a suit against the Mayor of Sendai to prevent construction fees from becoming approved. The suit is pending at the Sendai district courts.

The city is served by Sendai Airport, which has international flights to several countries, and Sendai Port. Contrary to the name, Sendai International Airport is actually in neighboring Natori City, south of the city. Authorities in Sendai and Natori are planning to construct a railway that connects Sendai station and the airport.

The Sendai is surrounded by a network of highways. The Tohoku Expressway runs north-south through western Sendai, and is interconnected to other highways, such as the Sendai Nanbu Road, Sendai Tobu Road, Sanriku Expressway (Sendai-Matsushima Road), and Sendai Hokubu Road.