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'''', 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 , the Tokyo Metropolis is the Capital Of Japan and 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 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 . HISTORY See Also: History of Tokyo . The general public is allowed to cross this bridge on two days of the year: New Year's and the Emperor's birthday on Dec. 23 to greet the Imperial family appearing on a balcony.]] Tokyo's rise to prominence can be largely attributed to two men: '' .]] 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 . Encyclopedia shows the old German name for Tokyo, Jedo.]] 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 " from which it is now slowly 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 Earthquake s 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 . Reclaimed land on Tokyo Bay (such as Odaiba ) has been omitted for clarity. The islands cannot be shown at this scale. Click on the map to enlarge it.]] 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 -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 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:
, considered the center of Japanese youth culture, boasts one of the world's busiest pedestrian crossings, the Scramble Crossing in front of the Hachikō exit of Shibuya station.]]
West Tokyo 's Landsat 7 .]] 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. 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. Islands , to the south, are part of Tokyo.]] 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: Ogasawara Islands
National Parks There are four national parks in Tokyo:
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 world List Of Countries By GDP (Nominal) . It is a major international finance center, headquarters to several of the world's largest Investment Bank s 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 2006.1 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)
By age (As of Jan. 1, 2003):
By time (As of 2000)
By nationality
TRANSPORTATION See Also: Transportation in Greater Tokyo 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 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
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 at the University Of Tokyo .]] National Universities
Public University Private Universities Primary and Secondary Schools Publicly run kindergartens, Elementary School s (years 1 through 6), and Junior High School s (7 through 9) are operated by local wards or municipal offices. Public High School s 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. For a list of high schools in Japanese, see [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/東京都高等学校一覧 . 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:
''In addition, many of the wards and cities within Tokyo maintain sister-city relationships with other foreign cities'' |