Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

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Image:TokyoTocho.jpg Image:Tocho building 1 from 12th floor.jpg Image:Tocho-and-trees.JPG

The Template:Nihongo, (also referred to as Tokyo City Hall, or Tōchō) is the building which houses the headquarters of Tokyo local government; this comprises not only the 23 wards that people think of as the "city" of Tokyo, but also the cities, towns and villages that make up Tokyo as a whole.

Located in Shinjuku, it is the tallest building in Tokyo at 243 meters (799 feet) from base to top, and the second-tallest structure after Tokyo Tower. The two top-floor observation decks are free of charge to the public.

The building consists of a complex of three structures each taking up a city block. The tallest and most prominent of the three is Tokyo Metropolitan Main building No.1, a tower 48 stories tall that splits into two sections at the 33rd floor. The building also has three levels below ground. The design of the building (which was supposed to looks like a computer chip), by architect Kenzo Tange (and associates), has many symbolic touches, most notably the aforementioned split which re-creates the look of a Gothic cathedral.

Finished in 1991 at the expense of 157 billion yen (about $US 1 billion) of public money, a popular nickname for Tocho is "Tax Tower."

The other two buildings in the complex are eight-story Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Building (including one underground floor) and Tokyo Metropolitan Main Building No.2, which has 37 stories including three below ground.

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In fiction

As one of the distinguishing landmarks of Tokyo, the building often features in anime

In Digimon Tamers, the building houses the headquarters of the secretive government organisation, Hypnos.
In X/1999, the basement of the building is headquarters for the Chi No Ryu and houses the giant computer "Beast".
In the Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd Gig episode Excavation, Togusa discovers a nefarious excavation under the building in submerged pre-war Tokyo.

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