Encyclopedia
listen is one of the 47
prefectures of
Japan and is the location of its capital.
Within Tokyo are 23 municipalities, the
23 special wards. Also in Tokyo are the
Japanese government, and the
Imperial Palace, home of the
Japanese Imperial Family.
About 12 million people live in Tokyo. It is the center region of the world's most populous metropolitan area. It is considered one of the world's major
global cities and a megacity.
History
Tokyo's rise to importance can be largely attributed to two men:
Tokugawa Ieyasu and
Emperor Meiji. In 1603, after unifying the warring states of Japan,
Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made
Edo his base. As a result, the city developed rapidly and grew to become one of the largest cities in the world with a population topping one million by the
18th century. It became the de facto capital of Japan even while the emperor lived in
Kyoto, the imperial capital. See
Edo.
After 263 years, the shogunate was overthrown under the banner of restoring imperial rule. In 1869, the figurehead 17-year-old
Emperor Meiji moved to Edo, which was renamed "Tokyo" the year before. Tokyo was already the nation's political, economic, and cultural center, and the emperor's residence made it a de facto imperial capital as well with the former Edo Castle becoming the
Imperial Palace. The city of Tokyo was established, and continued to be the capital until it was abolished as a municipality in 1943.
Tokyo, like
Osaka has been designed since about the turn of the century to be rail-centric, that is centered around major train stations in a high density fashion, so suburban railways were built relatively cheaply at street level. This differs from other world cities such as Los Angeles that are low density automobile centric, and though
expressways have been built, the basic design hasn't changed to this day.
Tokyo went on to suffer two major catastrophes and has recovered remarkably from both. One was the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, and the other was
World War II. The
firebombings in 1945 were almost as devastating as the atomic bombs of
Hiroshima and
Nagasaki combined. Large areas of the city were flattened.
After the war, Tokyo was completely rebuilt, and showcased to the world during the city's
1964 Summer Olympics. Tokyo became the largest city in the world in 1965 . The 1970s brought new high-rise developments such as
Sunshine 60, a new and controversial
airport at
Narita , and a population increase to about 11 million .
Tokyo's subway and commuter rail network became the busiest in the world as more and more people moved to the area. In the 1980s, real estate prices skyrocketed during an economic
bubble: many got rich quick, but the bubble burst in the early 1990s and many companies, banks, and individuals were caught with real estate shrinking in value. A major recession followed, making the 1990s Japan's "lost decade" from which it is now slowly recovering.
Tokyo still sees new urban developments on large lots of less profitable land. Recent projects include
Ebisu Garden Place, Tennozu Isle, Shiodome,
Roppongi Hills, Shinagawa , and Tokyo Station . Buildings of significance are demolished for more up-to-date shopping facilities such as
Omotesando Hills. Land reclamation projects in Tokyo have also been going on for centuries. The most prominent is the
Odaiba area, now a major shopping and entertainment center.
Tokyo was hit by powerful
earthquakes in 1703, 1782, 1812, 1855 and 1923. The 1923 earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 8.3, killed 142,000 people.
There have been various plans proposed for transferring national government functions from Tokyo to secondary capitals in other regions of Japan, in order to slow down rapid development in Tokyo and revitalize economically lagging areas of the country. These plans have been controversial within Japan and have yet to be realized.
Due to evolution in the method in which Japanese letters are transliterated into their roman representation, older texts may refer to the city as "Tokio."
Geography and administrative divisions
Tokyo Prefecture consists of three major parts, the
23 special wards , Tama, and the islands.
The mainland portion of Tokyo lies northwest of
Tokyo Bay, and measures about 90 km east to west and 25 km north to south. It borders
Chiba Prefecture to the east,
Yamanashi Prefecture to the west,
Kanagawa Prefecture to the south, and
Saitama Prefecture to the north. Mainland Tokyo is further subdivided into the 23 Special Wards, which occupy the eastern half, and Tama.
Tokyo Prefecture also includes two island chains in the
Pacific Ocean directly south — the
Izu Islands which are almost parallel to the Izu Peninsula, and the
Ogasawara Islands which stretch more than 1,000 km away from mainland Japan.
Under
Japanese law, Tokyo is designated as a
to . Its administrative structure is similar to that of Japan's other
prefectures. Within Tokyo lie dozens of smaller entities, most of them conventionally referred to as cities. It includes
23 special wards which until 1943 comprised the city of Tokyo but are now separate, self-governing municipalities, each with a mayor and a council, and having the status of a city. In addition to these 23 municipalities, Tokyo also encompasses 26 more cities , five towns , and eight villages , each of which has a local government. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is headed by a publicly-elected governor and metropolitan assembly. Its
headquarters are in the ward of
Shinjuku. They govern all of Tokyo, including lakes, rivers, dams, farms, remote islands, and
national parks in addition to its famous neon jungle, skyscrapers and crowded subways.
The 23 special wards
The
23 special wards of Tokyo comprise the area formerly known as Tokyo City, usually called as "Tokyo". In July 1, 1943, Tokyo City was merged to Tokyo Prefecture , and lost municipality, and divided into wards.
Each ward is a local municipality with its own elected mayor and assembly, differing from an ordinary city in that certain governmental functions are handled by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and, for most, also differing in having no particular center and little cultural or similar distinctiveness from the immediate surroundings.
As of September 1, 2003, the official total population of the 23 wards combined was about 8.34 million, with a population density of 13,416 persons per square kilometer.
The term "central Tokyo" today may refer to the 23 wards, the area within the
Yamanote Line loop, or to the three "central wards" of
Chiyoda,
Chuo and
Minato. While the generally-accepted center of Tokyo is the
Imperial Palace, as a rail-centric city, there are a number of major urban centers where business, shopping, and entertainment are concentrated around major train stations. These include:
- Shinjuku — Location of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building . It is best known for Tokyo's early skyscrapers, erected since the early 1970s. Major department stores, electronics stores, and hotels can be found. On the east side of Shinjuku Station, Kabuki-cho is notorious for its many bars and nightclubs. Shinjuku Station moves an estimated three million passengers a day, making it the busiest in the world.
- Marunouchi and Otemachi — The main financial and business district of Tokyo has many headquarters of banks, trading companies, and other major corporations. The area is seeing a major redevelopment with new buildings for shopping and entertainment constructed in front of Tokyo Station's Marunouchi side.
- Ginza and Yurakucho — Major shopping and entertainment district with department stores, upscale shops selling brand-name goods, and movie theaters.
- Shinbashi — By being the gateway to Odaiba and having the new Shiodome Shiosite complex of high-rise buildings, this area has been effectively revitalized.
- Shinagawa — In addition to the major hotels on the west side of Shinagawa Station, the former sleepy east side of the station has been redeveloped as a major center for business.
- Shibuya — A longtime center of shopping, fashion, and entertainment, especially for the younger set. Shibuya is also home to some of Tokyo's largest and newest nightclubs.
- Ikebukuro — Anchored by the Sunshine City hotel and shopping complex, this is another area where people gather due to the various train lines shooting out of Ikebukuro Station.
- Ueno
Ueno is a district in Tokyo [i]'s Taito [i] Ward [i], best known as the ...
—
Ueno Station serves areas north of Tokyo from where many people commute. Besides department stores and shops in Ameyoko, Ueno boasts
Ueno Park,
Ueno Zoo, and major national museums. In spring, Ueno Park and adjacent Shinobazu Pond are prime places to view cherry blossoms.
- Odaiba — A large, reclaimed, waterfront area that has become one of Tokyo's most popular shopping and entertainment districts.
- Kinshicho — Major shopping and entertainment area in eastern Tokyo.
- Nagatacho — The political heart of Tokyo and the nation. It is the location of the Diet, government ministries, and party headquarters.
- Akasaka — A district with a range of restaurants, clubs and hotels; many pedestrian alleys giving it a local neighbourhood feel. Next to Roppongi, Nagatacho, and Aoyama.
- Aoyama — A neighborhood of Tokyo with parks, an enormous cemetery, expensive housing, trendy cafes, and international restaurants .
Western Tokyo
West of the 23 wards, Tokyo Prefecture consists of cities, towns and villages which enjoy the same legal status as those elsewhere in Japan.
While serving a role as "
bed towns" for those working in central Tokyo, some of these also have a local commercial and industrial base. Collectively, these are often known as
Tama Area or
Western Tokyo.
Cities
Twenty-six cities are within the western part of Tokyo Prefecture.
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
|
...
...
...
...
[i]
...
...
...
...
...
|
Districts, towns, and villages
The far west is occupied by the district of Nishitama. Much of this area is mountainous and unsuitable for urbanization. The highest mountain in Tokyo, Mount Kumotori, is 2,017 m high; other mountains in Tokyo include Mount Takasu , Mount Odake , and
Mount Mitake .
Lake Okutama, on the
Tama River near
Yamanashi Prefecture, is Tokyo's largest lake.
Islands
Tokyo's outlying islands extend as far as 1850 km from central Tokyo. Because of the islands' distance from the city, they are locally run by branches of the metropolitan government. Most of the islands are classified as villages.
Izu Islands
The
Izu Islands are a group of volcanic islands and form part of the
Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. The islands in order from closest to Tokyo are:
Ogasawara Islands
...
, Nishinoshima, Haha-jima, Kita Iwo Jima,
Iwo Jima, and Minami Iwo Jima. Ogasawara also administers two tiny outlying islands:
Minami Torishima, the easternmost point in Japan and at 1,850 km the most distant island from central Tokyo, and
Okino Torishima, the southernmost point in Japan. These later two islands are contested by some nations as being only uninhabited rocks. The Iwo chain and the outlying islands are mostly uninhabited, but there are small local populations on the three islands closer to Honshu.
National Parks
There are four national parks in Tokyo Prefecture:
Economy
Tokyo has the largest metropolitan economy in the world: its nominal
GDP of around US$1.315 trillion is greater than the eighth-largest
national economy in the world. It is a major international finance center, is site of the headquarters of several of the world's largest investment banks and insurance companies, and serves as a hub for Japan's
transportation,
publishing, and broadcasting industries.
During the centralized growth of Japan's economy following
World War II, many large firms moved their headquarters from cities such as
Osaka to Tokyo, in an attempt to take advantage of better access to the government. This trend has begun to slow due to ongoing population growth in Tokyo and the high cost of living there.
Tokyo was rated by the
Economist Intelligence Unit as the most expensive city in the world for 14 years in a row ending in 2006. Note that this is for living a Western corporate executive lifestyle. Many Japanese get by fine on a budget in Tokyo, underpinning the high national savings rate.
The
Tokyo Stock Exchange is the second largest in the world currently by market capitalization of listed shares, at more than $4 trillion. Only the
New York Stock Exchange is larger. However, its prominence has fallen significantly since early 1990's asset bubble peak, when it accounted for more than 60 percent of the entire world's stock market values.
Demographics
As one of the
major cities of the world, Tokyo has over eight million people living within its 23 wards, and during the daytime, the population swells by over 2.5 million as workers and students commute from adjacent areas. This effect is even more pronounced in the three central wards of
Chiyoda,
Chuo, and
Minato, whose collective population is less than 300,000 at night, but over two million during the day.
This is the age and nationality of Tokyo's population:
By area
- All of Tokyo Prefecture: 12.36 million
- 23 special wards: 8.34 million
- Tama: 4 million
- Islands: 27,000
By age :
- Juveniles : 1.433 million
- Working population : 8.507 million
- Aged population : 2.057 million
By time
- Nighttime: 12.017 million
- Daytime: 14.667 million
By nationality
- Foreign residents: 353,826
- Top 5 Nationalities of Foreign Residents: Chinese , Korean , Philippine , American , British
Transportation
Tokyo is Japan's largest domestic and international hub for rail, ground, and air transportation. Public transportation within Tokyo is dominated by an extensive network of clean and efficient, if often very crowded trains and subways run by a variety of operators, with buses, monorails and trams playing a secondary role. Railway stations are not only transport, but the center of Tokyo and Japanese urban life, as everything is judged in relation to it, taking on the significance of highways in the United States and elsewhere.
Within Tokyo,
Tokyo International Airport offers mainly domestic flights. Outside Tokyo,
Narita International Airport, in
Narita,
Chiba Prefecture, is the major gateway for international travelers.
Rail is the primary mode of transportation in Tokyo, which has the most extensive urban railway network in the world and an equally extensive network of surface lines.
JR East operates Tokyo's largest railway network, including the
Yamanote Line loop that circles the center of downtown Tokyo.
Tokyo Metro and
Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation operate the subway network. The metropolitan government and private carriers operate bus routes. Local, regional, and national services are available, with major terminals at the giant railroad stations, including
Tokyo and
Shinjuku.
Expressways link the capital to other points in the Greater Tokyo area, the Kanto region, and the islands of
Kyushu and
Shikoku.
Taxis operate in the 23 Special Wards and the cities and towns. Long-distance ferries serve the islands of Tokyo and carry passengers and cargo to domestic and foreign ports.
Education
Being the nation's center of education, Tokyo has many universities, junior colleges, and vocational schools. Many of Japan's most prestigious universities are in Tokyo. The most prestigious is the
University of Tokyo. Other schools include
Keio University,
Hitotsubashi University, and
Waseda University.
Universities
Tokyo also has a few universities well-known for classes instructed in English. They include
International Christian University,
Sophia University, and
Temple University Japan.
Tokyo has an array of Japanese universities. National universities include
Tokyo Medical and Dental University,
University of Electro-Communications,
Tokyo Institute of Technology and
University of Tokyo. There is only one public university, the
Tokyo Metropolitan University, and Private Universities include, Asia University,
Tokyo University of Science,
Toyo University and Seijo University. For an extensive list of universities in Tokyo, see List of universities in Tokyo.
Primary and Secondary Schools
Publicly run kindergartens,
elementary schools , and junior high schools are operated by local wards or municipal offices. Public
high schools in Tokyo are run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education and are called "Metropolitan High Schools". Tokyo also has a great number of privately run schools from kindergarten through high school. For a list of high schools in Japanese, see .
Tourism in Tokyo
Tokyo has many tourist sightseeing, cultural and sport attractions. These include famous temples, shrines, annual festivals and events, parks, scenic views, popular shopping and nightlife districts. Cultural highlights of Tokyo include museums, concert halls, and theaters.
Tokyo in popular media
As the largest city in Japan and the location of the country's largest broadcasters and studios, Tokyo is frequently the setting for many Japanese movies, television shows, animated series , and comic books . The best-known outside Japan may be the
kaiju genre, in which landmarks of Tokyo are routinely destroyed by giant monsters such as
Godzilla. Many comics and animated series set in Tokyo, such as
Ranma ½,
Azumanga Daioh,
