Tokyo

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Template:Nihongo Template:Audio, literally "eastern capital", is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and includes the highly urbanized central area formerly known as the city of Tokyo which is the heart of the Greater Tokyo Area. Although not a single city, it is considered the capital of Japan since it is home to the Japanese government and emperor. About 12 million people—10 percent of the country's population—live in Tokyo, while approximately 33–35 million people live in the entire Greater Tokyo conurbation, making it effectively part of the most populated urban area on earth.

Tokyo is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. Its center is at 35°41' North, 139°46' East (35.68333, 139.7667) [1], but its borders extend to outlying islands in the Pacific Ocean, some as far as 1,000 km south of the mainland.

Tokyo is the nation's center of politics, business, finance, education, mass media, and pop culture. Tokyo has Japan's highest concentration of corporate headquarters, financial institutions, universities and colleges, museums, theaters, and shopping and entertainment establishments. Tokyo is widely considered to be one of the world's major "global cities", and a Megacity.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography and administrative divisions 2.1 The 23 special wards 2.2 West Tokyo 2.2.1 Cities 2.2.2 Districts, towns, and villages 2.3 Islands 2.3.1 Izu Islands 2.3.2 Ogasawara Islands 2.4 National Parks 3 Economy 4 Demographics 4.1 Population 5 Transportation 5.1 Railways and subways 5.2 Buses 5.3 Highways 5.4 Others 6 Education 6.1 Universities in Tokyo 6.1.1 National Universities 6.1.2 Public University 6.1.3 Private Universities 6.2 Primary and Secondary Schools 7 Tourism in Tokyo 8 Tokyo in popular media 9 Miscellaneous topics 9.1 Sister relationships 10 External links 11 References

History

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Image:JapanTokyoNijubashi.jpg Tokyo's rise to prominence 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 (now Tokyo) his base of operations. As a result, the city developed rapidly and grew to become one of the largest cities in the world with a population topping 1 million by the 18th century. It became the de facto capital of Japan even while the emperor resided in Kyoto, the imperial capital. For details, see: Edo

Image:TokyoEdoCastleBase.jpg 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". 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.

Image:Karte Tokia MKL1888.png Tokyo went on to suffer two major catastrophes and has remarkably recovered from both of them. 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. Today, hardly a trace of the war is evident to visitors to the city, but many people still carry its emotional scars.

After the war, Tokyo was rebuilt with excellent train and subway systems, which were showcased to the world during the city's 1964 Summer Olympics. Tokyo became the largest city in the world in 1965 (taking the lead from New York) and has remained so until now. The 1970s brought new high-rise developments, a new and controversial airport at Narita (1978), and a population increase to about 11 million (in the metropolitan 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 slowly now recovering.

Tokyo still sees new or renewed urban centers being developed on large lots of idle land. Recent projects include Ebisu Garden Place, Tennozu Isle, Shiodome, Roppongi Hills, Shinagawa (now also a shinkansen station), and Tokyo Station (Marunouchi side). 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 has been 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

Image:TokyoMapCurrent.png Tokyo is northwest of Tokyo Bay, and is 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. It also consists of two island chains in the Pacific Ocean directly south -- the Izu Islands which are almost parallel to the Izu Penninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture, and the Ogasawara Islands which stretch more than 1,000 km away from mainland Japan.

Under Japanese law, Tokyo is designated as a to (都, often translated "metropolis"). Its administrative structure is similar to that of Japan's other prefectures. Within Tokyo lie dozens of cities, towns, and villages. It includes 23 special wards (特別区 -ku) 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 (市 -shi), 5 towns (町 -chō or machi), and 8 villages (村 -son or mura), each of which has a local government. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is headed by a publicly-elected governor and metropolitan assembly. Its headquarters are located in the ward of Shinjuku. Tokyo includes lakes, rivers, dams, farms, remote islands, and national parks, in addition to its famous neon jungle, skyscrapers and crowded subways.

Tokyo is also part of the Greater Tokyo Area, by far the world's most populous metropolitan region, which includes the surrounding prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba.

The 23 special wards

Image:Skyscrapers of Shinjuku 25 January 2004.jpg The 23 special wards (tokubetsu-ku) of Tokyo comprise the area formerly known as Tokyo City. 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. 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, there are a number of major urban centers where business, shopping, and entertainment are concentrated. These include:

• Shinjuku — Tokyo's capital where the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is located. It is best known for Tokyo's early skyscrapers since the early 1970s. Major department stores, camera and computer stores, and hotels can be found. On the east side of Shinjuku Station, Kabuki-cho is notorious for its many bars and nightclubs.
• Marunouchi and Otemachi — The main financial and business district of Tokyo has many headquarters of banks, trading companies, and other major businesses. 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.

Image:Shibuya tokyo.jpg

• 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 (which was once Tokyo's tallest building) hotel and shopping complex, this is another area where people gather due to the various train lines shooting out of Ikebukuro Station.
• Ueno — 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 - Upscale commercial district next to Roppongi, Nagatacho, and Aoyama.
• Aoyama - An upscale neighborhood of Tokyo with parks, an enormous cemetery, expensive housing, trendy cafes, and international restaurants (includes the subway station Omotesando).

West Tokyo

Image:Tokyo Landsat.jpg West of the 23 wards, Tokyo 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 "West Tokyo."

Cities

26 cities are located on the west of Tokyo.

Akiruno Akishima Chofu Fuchu Fussa Hachioji Hamura Higashikurume Higashimurayama Higashiyamato Hino Inagi Kiyose

Kodaira Koganei Kokubunji Komae Kunitachi Machida Mitaka Musashimurayama Musashino Nishi-tokyo Ome Tachikawa Tama

Districts, towns, and villages

The far west is occupied by the district (gun) 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 (1737 m), Mount Odake (1266 m), and Mount Mitake (929 m). Lake Okutama, on the Tama River near Yamanashi Prefecture, is Tokyo's largest lake.

• Hinode
• Mizuho
• Okutama
• Hinohara Village

Islands

Image:Map IzuIslandsShuttle.jpg Tokyo's outlying islands extend as far as 1,850 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:

• Izu Oshima
• Toshima Island
• Niijima
• Shikinejima
• Kozushima
• Miyakejima
• Mikurajima
• Aogashima
• Hachijojima

Ogasawara Islands

• Ogasawara—Ogasawara includes, from north to south, Chichi-jima, 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 other 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:

• Chichibu-Tama National Park, located in Nishitama and spilling over into Yamanashi and Saitama Prefectures
• Meiji no Mori Takao Quasi-National Park, located around Mount Takao to the south of Hachioji.
• Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park which includes all of the Izu Islands.
• Ogasawara National Park. Efforts are being made to make Ogasawara National Park a UNESCO natural World Heritage Site.

Economy

Tokyo has the largest metropolitan economy in the world: its nominal GDP of around US$1.315 trillion is greater than the 8th largest national economy in the worldTemplate:Ref. It is a major international finance center, headquarters to 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 (the historical commercial capital) 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 (highest cost-of-living) city in the world for 14 years in a row ending in 2006.Template:Ref

Demographics

As one of the major cities of the world, Tokyo has over 8 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 2 million during the day.

Population

By area (as of Oct. 1, 2003)

• All of Tokyo: 12.36 million
• 23 special wards: 8.34 million
• Tama area: 4 million
• Islands: 27,000

By age (As of Jan. 1, 2003):

• Juveniles (0-14): 1.433 million (12%)
• Working population (15-64): 8.507 million (71.4%)
• Aged population (65+): 2.057 million (16.6%)

By time (As of 2000)

• Nighttime: 12.017 million
• Daytime: 14.667 million

By nationality

• Foreign residents: 353,826 (as of Jan. 1, 2005)
• Top 5 Nationalities of Foreign Residents: Chinese (120,331), Korean (103,191), Philippine (31,505), American (18,043), British (7,585)

Transportation

Template:Main 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 occasionally very crowded trains and subways run by a variety of operators, with buses, monorails and trams playing a secondary role.

Within Tokyo, Tokyo International Airport ("Haneda") offers mainly domestic flights. Outside of Tokyo, Narita International Airport is the major gateway for international travelers.

Railways and subways

Image:Tokyo subway map black.PNG 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.

Buses

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.

Highways

Expressways link the capital to other points in the Greater Tokyo area, the Kanto region, and the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku.

Others

• 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 boasts 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.

Tokyo also has a few universities well-known for classes instructed in English. They include International Christian University, Sophia University, and Temple University Japan.

Universities in Tokyo

Image:Akamon.jpg

National Universities

• Ochanomizu University
• University of Electro-Communications
• Tokyo Medical and Dental University
• Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
• Tokyo Gakugei University
• Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology
• Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku
• Tokyo Institute of Technology
• University of Tokyo
• Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
• Hitotsubashi University

Public University

• Tokyo Metropolitan University

Private Universities

Alliant International University Aoyama Gakuin University Asia University Obirin University Gakushuin University Keio University Kogakuin University Kokugakuin University International Christian University Kokushikan University Toyo University Komazawa University

Seijo University Seikei University Shibaura Institute of Technology Sophia University Showa University Senshu University Daito Bunka University Takushoku University Chuo University Teikyo University Temple University Japan Tokyo Denki University Tokyo University of Agriculture

Tokyo University of Science Toho University Nihon University Hosei University Musashi Institute of Technology Musashi University Meiji University Meiji Gakuin University Rikkyo University Waseda University

Primary and Secondary Schools

Publicly run kindergartens, elementary schools (years 1 through 6), and junior high schools (7 through 9) 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 kindgergarten through high school.[2]. For a list of high schools in Japanese, see [3].

Tourism in Tokyo

Tokyo has many tourist sightseeing, cultural and sport attractions. Tourism in Tokyo has detailed information on famous sights, annual festivals and events, parks, scenic views, popular shopping and nightlife districts. Cultural Highlights in Tokyo are also included.

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 (anime), and comic books (manga). The most well-known outside Japan may be the kaiju (monster movie) genre, in which landmarks of Tokyo are routinely destroyed by giant monsters such as Godzilla. Many comic books and animated series set in Tokyo, such as Sailor Moon, Ranma ½, and Yu-Gi-Oh!, have become popular across the world as well.

Some Hollywood directors have turned to Tokyo as a filming location. Well-known examples from the postwar era include Tokyo Joe, My Geisha, and the James Bond film You Only Live Twice; well-known contemporary examples include Kill Bill and Lost in Translation.

Miscellaneous topics

Sister relationships

Tokyo has sister relationships with several places worldwide:

• Beijing, People's Republic of China
• Berlin, Germany
• Cairo, Egypt
• Jakarta, Indonesia
• Moscow, Russia
• New South Wales, Australia
• New York City, United States
• Paris, France
• Rome, Italy
• São Paulo, Brazil
• Seoul, South Korea

In addition, many of the wards and cities within Tokyo maintain sister-city relationships with other foreign cities

Headquarters of Tokyo Metropolitan Government

View of Tokyo's Shibuya district

External links

Template:Sisterlinks Template:Wikitravel

• Template:En icon Official Tokyo Metropolitan Government homepage
• Template:En icon Festivals around Tokyo The Japan Times
• Template:En icon Interactive satellite view of the area
• Template:En icon Japan-guide to Tokyo
• Template:En icon Tokyo Diary Tokyo business/professional events calendar
• Template:En icon Tokyo Metro Subway lines
• Template:En icon Tokyo Past and Present Web Japan

References

• Template:Note List of countries by GDP (Nominal)
• Template:Note{{cite news

 | url=http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-01-31T113907Z_01_L312905_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-CITIES.xml&archived=False
 | title=Oslo is world's most expensive city: survey
 | publisher=Reuters
 | date=January 31, 2006
 | accessdate=February 1

}} Template:Tokyo

Template:Kanto region

edit	Prefectures of Japan	Image:Flag of Japan.svg
Aichi | Akita | Aomori | Chiba | Ehime | Fukui | Fukuoka | Fukushima | Gifu | Gunma | Hiroshima | Hokkaido | Hyogo | Ibaraki | Ishikawa | Iwate | Kagawa | Kagoshima | Kanagawa | Kochi | Kumamoto | Kyoto | Mie | Miyagi | Miyazaki | Nagano | Nagasaki | Nara | Niigata | Oita | Okayama | Okinawa | Osaka | Saga | Saitama | Shiga | Shimane | Shizuoka | Tochigi | Tokushima | Tokyo | Tottori | Toyama | Wakayama | Yamagata | Yamaguchi | Yamanashi
Regions of Japan
Hokkaido | Tohoku | Kantō | Chubu (Hokuriku - Koshinetsu - Tokai - Chukyo) | Kansai | Chugoku | Shikoku | Kyushu | Ryukyu
Major Cities (Cities designated by government ordinance)
23 wards of Tokyo | Chiba | Fukuoka | Hiroshima | Kawasaki | Kitakyushu | Kobe | Kyoto | Nagoya | Osaka | Saitama | Sakai | Sapporo | Sendai | Shizuoka | Yokohama

Template:Olympic Summer Games Host Cities

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