161-679: Shinjuku Station ( 新宿駅 , Shinjuku-eki ) is a major railway station in Tokyo , Japan, that serves as the main connecting hub for rail traffic between central/eastern Tokyo (the special wards ) and Western Tokyo on the inter-city rail , commuter rail , and subway lines. The station straddles the boundary between the Shinjuku and Shibuya special wards. In Shinjuku, it is in the Nishi-Shinjuku and Shinjuku districts; in Shibuya, it
322-558: A 25 kV AC overhead power supply (20 kV AC on Mini-shinkansen lines), to overcome the limitations of the 1,500 V direct current used on the existing electrified narrow-gauge system. Power is distributed along the train's axles to reduce the heavy axle loads under single power cars. The AC frequency of the power supply for the Tokaido Shinkansen is 60 Hz. Shinkansen trains are electric multiple units (EMUs), offering fast acceleration, deceleration and reduced damage to
483-522: A 387.5 km (241 mi) section of the Tōhoku Shinkansen ). Test runs have reached 443 km/h (275 mph) for conventional rail in 1996, and up to a world record 603 km/h (375 mph) for SCMaglev trains in April 2015. The original Tokaido Shinkansen, connecting Tokyo , Nagoya , and Osaka , three of Japan's largest cities, is one of the world's busiest high-speed rail lines. In
644-519: A bullet and its high speed. The Shinkansen name was first formally used in 1940 for a proposed standard gauge passenger and freight line between Tokyo and Shimonoseki that would have used steam and electric locomotives with a top speed of 200 km/h (120 mph). Over the next three years, the Ministry of Railways drew up more ambitious plans to extend the line to Beijing (through a tunnel to Korea ) and even Singapore , and build connections to
805-437: A concern for residents living close to tunnel portals. The slab track consists of rails, fasteners and track slabs with a cement asphalt mortar. On the roadbed and in tunnels, circular upstands, measuring 400–520 mm (16–20 inches) in diameter and 200 mm (7.9 inches) high, are located at 5-metre intervals. The prefabricated upstands are made of either reinforced concrete or pre-stressed reinforced concrete; they prevent
966-544: A dispute between JR East and JR Central about the use of the two platforms which were added to the Tokaido line's half of Tokyo station. Before JNR's privatization, they were conceived as being shared with the Tohoku line, and their construction used funds allocated to the Tohoku line's extension to Tokyo; however, the extension was finished after privatization, by which time the platforms were owned by JR Central. Therefore, there
1127-543: A goal of increasing roadside trees in Tokyo to 1 million (from 480,000), and adding 1,000 ha (2,500 acres) of green space, 88 ha (220 acres) of which will be a new park named "Umi no Mori" (Sea Forest) which will be on a reclaimed island in Tokyo Bay which used to be a landfill. From 2007 to 2010, 436 ha (1,080 acres) of the planned 1,000 ha of green space was created and 220,000 trees were planted, bringing
1288-505: A high ride quality and less electrical equipment. ) In Japan, significant engineering desirability exists for the electric multiple unit configuration. A greater proportion of motored axles permits higher acceleration, so the Shinkansen does not lose as much time if stopping frequently. Shinkansen lines have more stops in proportion to their lengths than high-speed lines elsewhere in the world. The main Shinkansen lines are: In practice,
1449-653: A large public square on the west side completed in 1941. Kondo's plan also called for extending the Tokyu Toyoko Line to a new underground terminal on the west side of the station and constructing an east–west underground line that would be served by the Seibu Railway and the Tokyo Kosoku Railway (forerunner of Tokyo Metro ), while the Keio and Odakyu lines would use above-ground terminals to
1610-432: A lesser extent Chiba and Ibaraki . Tokyo has been hit by powerful megathrust earthquakes in 1703, 1782, 1812, 1855, 1923, and much more indirectly (with some liquefaction in landfill zones) in 2011 ; the frequency of direct and large quakes is a relative rarity. The 1923 earthquake , with an estimated magnitude of 7.9, killed more than 100,000 people, the last time the urban area was directly hit. Mount Fuji
1771-475: A local government. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government administers the whole metropolis including the 23 special wards and the cities and towns that constitute the prefecture. It is headed by a publicly elected governor and metropolitan assembly. Its headquarters is in Shinjuku Ward. The governor of Tokyo is elected every four years. The incumbent governor, Yuriko Koike , was elected in 2016, following
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#17327768711971932-600: A low-interest loan of US$ 80 million from the World Bank . Initial estimates, however, were understated and the actual cost was about 380 billion yen. As the budget shortfall became clear in 1963, Sogo resigned to take responsibility. A test facility for rolling stock, called the Kamonomiya Model Section, opened in Odawara in 1962. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen began service on 1 October 1964, in time for
2093-517: A major shopping and entertainment center. Various plans have been proposed for transferring national government functions from Tokyo to secondary capitals in other regions of Japan, 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. On September 7, 2013, the IOC selected Tokyo to host
2254-463: A maximum speed of 130 km/h (80 mph), and 10.3 km (6.4 mi) of spur lines with Shinkansen services. The network links most major cities on the islands of Honshu and Kyushu , and connects to Hakodate on the northern island of Hokkaido . An extension to Sapporo is under construction and scheduled to open in March 2031. The maximum operating speed is 320 km/h (200 mph) (on
2415-614: A minimum curve radius of 4,000 m (13,123 ft) (2,500 m (8,202 ft) on the oldest Tōkaidō Shinkansen). The Shinkansen uses 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) standard gauge in contrast to the 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) narrow gauge of most other lines in Japan. Continuous welded rail and swingnose crossing points are employed, eliminating gaps at turnouts and crossings. Long rails are used, joined by expansion joints to minimize gauge fluctuation due to thermal elongation and shrinkage. A combination of ballasted and slab track
2576-682: A passenger committed suicide on board a Shinkansen train by setting himself on fire, killing another passenger and seriously injuring seven other people. There have been two derailments of Shinkansen trains in passenger service. The first one occurred during the Chūetsu earthquake on 23 October 2004 . Eight of ten cars of the Toki No. 325 train on the Jōetsu Shinkansen derailed near Nagaoka Station in Nagaoka, Niigata . There were no casualties among
2737-422: A range of advanced technology compared with conventional rail, achieving not only high speed but also a high standard of safety and comfort. Its success has influenced other railways in the world, demonstrating the importance and advantages of high-speed rail . Shinkansen routes never intersect with slower, narrow-gauge conventional lines (except mini-shinkansen , which runs along these older lines). Consequently,
2898-400: A standard-gauge rail has a curve with a maximum speed of 145 km/h (90 mph), the same curve on narrow-gauge rail will have a maximum allowable speed of 130 km/h (81 mph). Consequently, Japan had a greater need for new high-speed lines than countries where the existing standard gauge or broad gauge rail system had more upgrade potential. Among the key people credited with
3059-537: A stop on Japan Railway's Akabane-Shinagawa line (now part of the Yamanote Line ). Shinjuku was still a quiet community at the time and the station was not heavily trafficked at first. The opening of the Chūō Line (1889), Keiō Line (1915) and Odakyū Line (1923) led to increased traffic through the station. Japanese government urban planner Kensaburo Kondo designed a major revamp of the station in 1933, which included
3220-677: A trainset in order to perform high-speed tests. This train gave designers the confidence that they could safely build an even faster standard gauge train. Thus the first Shinkansen, the 0 series, was built on the success of the Romancecar. In the 1950s, the Japanese national attitude was that as was happening in the United States, railways would soon be outdated and replaced by air travel and highways. However, Shinji Sogō , President of Japanese National Railways , insisted strongly on
3381-490: A wetter summer and a drier winter. The growing season in Tokyo lasts for about 322 days from around mid-February to early January. Snowfall is sporadic, and occurs almost annually. Tokyo often sees typhoons every year, though few are strong. The wettest month since records began in 1876 was October 2004, with 780 millimeters (30 in) of rain, including 270.5 mm (10.65 in) on the ninth of that month. The most recent of four months on record to observe no precipitation
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#17327768711973542-530: A world city is said to have depreciated greatly during these three decades. Nonetheless, Tokyo still saw new urban developments during this period. Recent projects include Ebisu Garden Place, Tennōzu Isle , Shiodome , Roppongi Hills , Shinagawa , and the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station . Land reclamation projects in Tokyo have also been going on for centuries. The most prominent is the Odaiba area, now
3703-704: Is Shofukuji in Higashi-Murayama . The current building was constructed in 1407, during the Muromachi period (1336–1573). Although greatly reduced in number by later fires, earthquakes, and air raids, a considerable number of Edo-era buildings survive to this day. The Tokyo Imperial Palace , which was occupied by the Tokugawa Shogunate as Edo Castle during the Edo Period (1603–1868), has many gates and towers dating from that era, although
3864-531: Is 40 m (131 ft). Chiba Prefecture borders it to the east, Yamanashi to the west, Kanagawa to the south, and Saitama to the north. Mainland Tokyo is further subdivided into the special wards (occupying the eastern half) and the Tama area ( 多摩地域 ) stretching westwards. Tokyo has a latitude of 35.65 (near the 36th parallel north ), which makes it more southern than Rome (41.90), Madrid (40.41), New York City (40.71) and Beijing (39.91). Within
4025-473: Is December 1995. Annual precipitation has ranged from 879.5 mm (34.63 in) in 1984 to 2,229.6 mm (87.78 in) in 1938. See or edit raw graph data . Tokyo's climate has warmed significantly since temperature records began in 1876. The western mountainous area of mainland Tokyo, Okutama also lies in the humid subtropical climate (Köppen classification: Cfa ). The climates of Tokyo's offshore territories vary significantly from those of
4186-695: Is a major commuter route stretching southwest through the suburbs and out towards the coastal city of Odawara and the mountains of Hakone . The ten platforms are built on two levels beneath the Odakyu department store; three express service tracks (six platforms) on the ground level and two tracks (four platforms) on the level below. Each track has platforms on both sides in order to completely separate boarding and alighting passengers . Chest-high platform screen doors were added to platforms 4 and 5 in September 2012. Keio operates two sections of Shinjuku Station,
4347-512: Is about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Tokyo. There is a low risk of eruption. The last recorded was the Hōei eruption which started on December 16, 1707, and ended about January 1, 1708 (16 days). During the Hōei eruption, the ash amount was 4 cm in southern Tokyo (bay area) and 2 cm to 0.5 cm in central Tokyo. Kanagawa had 16 cm to 8 cm ash and Saitama 0.5 to 0 cm. If
4508-666: Is connected by underground passageways and shopping malls to Nearby non-connected stations (within 500 meters of an underground passageway or station) include There is a bus terminal at the west exit servicing both local and long-distance buses and a JR Highway Bus terminal at the New South Gates. On April 4, 2016, the new bus terminal and commercial facilities nearby the south exit, named Busta Shinjuku [ ja ] ( Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal ), opened for service. Considerable numbers of coaches and airport buses depart from this new terminal. The figures below are
4669-800: Is in the Yoyogi and Sendagaya districts. The station was used by an average of 3.59 million people per day in 2018, making it the world's busiest railway station by far (and registered as such with Guinness World Records ). The main East Japan Railway Company (JR East) station and the directly adjacent private railways have a total of 35 platforms, an underground arcade, above-ground arcade and numerous hallways with another 17 platforms (53 total) that can be accessed through hallways to five directly connected stations without surfacing outside. The entire above/underground complex has well over 200 exits. Shinjuku Station opened in 1885 as
4830-515: Is in the tropical savanna climate zone (Köppen classification: Aw ). Tokyo's Izu and Ogasawara islands are affected by an average of 5.4 typhoons a year, compared to 3.1 in mainland Kantō. Tokyo is near the boundary of three plates , making it an extremely active region for smaller quakes and slippage which frequently affect the urban area with swaying as if in a boat, although epicenters within mainland Tokyo (excluding Tokyo's 2,000 km (1,243 mi)–long island jurisdiction) are quite rare. It
4991-465: Is located on the Kantō Plain with five river systems and dozens of rivers that expand during each season. Important rivers are Edogawa , Nakagawa , Arakawa , Kandagawa , Megurogawa and Tamagawa . In 1947, Typhoon Kathleen struck Tokyo, destroying 31,000 homes and killing 1,100 people. In 1958, Typhoon Ida dropped 400 mm (16 in) of rain in a single week, causing streets to flood. In
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5152-722: Is no through service between those lines. All northbound services from Tokyo travel along the Tohoku Shinkansen until at least Ōmiya before splitting off towards Sendai or Takasaki. Two further lines, known as Mini-shinkansen , have also been constructed by re-gauging and upgrading existing sections of line: There are two standard-gauge lines not technically classified as Shinkansen lines but run Shinkansen trains as they use tracks leading to Shinkansen storage/maintenance yards: The following lines are under construction. These lines except Chūō Shinkansen , called Seibi Shinkansen [ ja ] or planned Shinkansen , are
5313-458: Is not uncommon in the metro area to have hundreds of these minor quakes (magnitudes 4–6) that can be felt in a single year, something local residents merely brush off but can be a source of anxiety not only for foreign visitors but for Japanese from elsewhere as well. They rarely cause much damage (sometimes a few injuries) as they are either too small or far away as quakes tend to dance around the region. Particularly active are offshore regions and to
5474-428: Is served by the following railway systems: The station is centered around facilities servicing the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) lines. These consist of eight ground-level island platforms (16 tracks) on a north–south axis, connected by two overhead and two underground concourses. Most JR services here are urban and suburban mass transit lines, although many limited express services to Kōfu and Matsumoto on
5635-607: Is the central hub for the Shinkansen , Japan's high-speed railway network, and Shinjuku Station in Tokyo is the world's busiest train station. The city is home to the world's tallest tower, Tokyo Skytree . The Tokyo Metro Ginza Line , which opened in 1927, is the oldest underground metro line in Asia–Pacific . Tokyo's nominal gross domestic output was 113.7 trillion yen or US$ 1.04 trillion in FY2021 and accounted for 20.7% of
5796-527: Is the third-smallest, above only Osaka and Kagawa . Its administrative structure is similar to that of Japan's other prefectures . The 23 special wards ( 特別区 , tokubetsu-ku ) , which until 1943 constituted the city of Tokyo , are self-governing municipalities , each having a mayor, a council, and the status of a city. In addition to these 23 special wards, Tokyo also includes 26 more cities ( 市 -shi ), five towns ( 町 -chō or machi ), and eight villages ( 村 -son or -mura ), each of which has
5957-498: Is used today in English-language announcements and signage. Japan was the first country to build dedicated railway lines for high-speed travel. Because of the mountainous terrain, the existing network consisted of 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) narrow-gauge lines, which generally took indirect routes and could not be adapted to higher speeds due to technical limitations of narrow-gauge rail. For example, if
6118-431: Is used, with slab track exclusively employed on concrete bed sections such as viaducts and tunnels. Slab track is significantly more cost-effective in tunnel sections, since the lower track height reduces the cross-sectional area of the tunnel, reducing construction costs up to 30%. However, the smaller diameter of Shinkansen tunnels, compared to some other high-speed lines, has resulted in the issue of tunnel boom becoming
6279-679: The 0 series , ran at speeds of up to 210 km/h (130 mph), later increased to 220 km/h (137 mph). The last of these trains, with their classic bullet-nosed appearance, were retired on 30 November 2008. A driving car from one of the 0 series trains was donated by JR West to the National Railway Museum in York , United Kingdom in 2001. The Tōkaidō Shinkansen's rapid success prompted an extension westward to Okayama , Hiroshima and Fukuoka (the San'yō Shinkansen ), which
6440-467: The 1973 oil crisis put an end to the rapid post-war recovery and development of Japan's economy, its position as the world's second-largest economy at the time had seemed secure by that point, remaining so until 2010 when it was surpassed by China . Tokyo's development was sustained by its status as the economic, political, and cultural hub of such a country. In 1978, after years of the intense Sanrizuka Struggle , Narita International Airport opened as
6601-613: The 2020 Summer Olympics . Thus, Tokyo became the first Asian city to host the Olympic Games twice. However, the 2020 Olympic Games were postponed and held from July 23 to August 8, 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic . Under Japanese law , the prefecture of Tokyo is designated as a to ( 都 ) , translated as metropolis . Tokyo Prefecture is the most populous prefecture and the densest, with 6,100 inhabitants per square kilometer (16,000/sq mi); by geographic area it
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6762-580: The Arakawa River are most at risk of flooding. Tokyo's buildings are too diverse to be characterized by any specific archtectural style, but it can be generally said that a majority of extant structures were built in the past a hundred years; twice in recent history has the metropolis been left in ruins: first in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake and later after extensive firebombing in World War II . The oldest known extant building in Tokyo
6923-470: The Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult attempted a chemical terrorist attack by setting off a cyanide gas device in a toilet in the underground concourse, barely a month after the gas attack on the Tokyo subway which killed 13, left 6,252 people with non-fatal injuries, severely injured 50 people, and caused 984 cases of temporary vision problems. This time the attack was thwarted by staff who extinguished
7084-573: The Chūō Main Line and to Nikkō and Kinugawa Onsen via joint operations with the private Tōbu Railway also begin and end at this station, including Narita Express services to and from Narita International Airport . The JR section alone handles an average of 1.5 million passengers a day. The terminus for the private Odakyu Odawara Line is parallel to the JR platforms on the west side and handles an average of 490,000 passengers daily. This
7245-576: The Emperor of Japan . The Tokyo Metropolitan Government administers Tokyo's central 23 special wards (which formerly made up Tokyo City ), various commuter towns and suburbs in its western area , and two outlying island chains known as the Tokyo Islands . Despite most of the world recognizing Tokyo as a city, since 1943 its governing structure has been more akin to a prefecture, with an accompanying Governor and Assembly taking precedence over
7406-681: The Kasumigaseki district in Chiyoda, and the name Kasumigaseki is often used as a metonym for the Japanese national civil service . Tokyo has 25 constituencies for the House of Representatives , 18 of which were won by the ruling Liberal Democrats and 7 by the main opposition Constitutional Democrats in the 2021 general election . Apart from these seats, through the Tokyo proportional representation block , Tokyo sends 17 more politicians to
7567-546: The Keiō New Line . Keiō Line trains bypass these stations. Hōnanchō Branch Line 35°41′22″N 139°42′02″E / 35.68944°N 139.70056°E / 35.68944; 139.70056 Tokyo Tokyo , officially the Tokyo Metropolis , is the capital city of Japan . With a population of over 14 million residents within the city proper as of 2023, it is one of the most populous cities in
7728-537: The Meiji Period . Some gardens were immune from such fates and are today open to the public; Hamarikyu ( Kofu Tokugawa family ), Shibarikyu ( Kishu Tokugawa family ), Koishikawa Korakuen ( Mito Tokugawa family ), Rikugien ( Yanagisawa family ), and Higo Hosokawa Garden ( Hosokawa family ). The Akamon , which is now widely seen as a symbol of the University of Tokyo , was originally built to commemorate
7889-523: The Meiji Restoration . The high survival rate of concrete buildings promoted the transition from timber and brick architecture to modern, earthquake-proof construction. The Tokyo Metro Ginza Line portion between Ueno and Asakusa , the first underground railway line built outside Europe and the American continents, was completed on December 30, 1927. Although Tokyo recovered robustly from
8050-518: The Ministry of Finance were also relocated to Tokyo by 1871, and the first railway line in the country was opened on 14 October 1872, connecting Shimbashi ( Shiodome ) and Yokohama ( Sakuragicho ), which is now part of the Tokaido line . The 1870s saw the establishment of other institutions and facilities that now symbolize Tokyo, such as Ueno Park (1873), the University of Tokyo (1877) and
8211-507: The Ministry of Justice building (1895), the International Library of Children's Literature (1906) and Mistubishi building one (1894, rebuilt in 2010) are some of the few brick survivors from this period. It was regarded as fashionable by some members of the Japanese aristocracy to build their Tokyo residences in grand and modern styles, and some of these buildings still exist, although most are in private hands and open to
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#17327768711978372-761: The Narita Sky Access Line which opened in 2010, and the Keiyo Line reused space originally set aside for the Narita Shinkansen terminus at Tokyo Station . Although the Sky Access Line uses standard-gauge track, it was not built to Shinkansen specifications and there are no plans to convert it into a full Shinkansen line. Many Shinkansen lines were proposed during the boom of the early 1970s but have yet to be constructed and have subsequently been shelved indefinitely. In addition,
8533-563: The Ogasawara Islands , which had been under control of the US since the war ended, were returned in 1968. Ryokichi Minobe , a Marxian economist who served as the governor for 12 years starting in 1967, is remembered for his welfare state policy, including free healthcare for the elderly and financial support for households with children, and his ‘war against pollution’ policy, as well as the large government deficit they caused. Although
8694-570: The Shinkansen network, and the 1973 Shinkansen Basic Plan, still in force, specifies that the station should be the southern terminus of the Jōetsu Shinkansen line to Niigata . While construction of the Ōmiya -Shinjuku link never started and the Jōetsu line presently terminates in Tokyo Station , the right of way, including an area underneath the station, remains reserved. On 5 May 1995,
8855-726: The Shuto Expressway to meet the increased demand brought about by the 1964 Tokyo Olympics , the first Olympic Games held in Asia. Around this time, the 31-metre height restriction, imposed on all buildings since 1920, was relaxed due to the increased demand for office buildings and advancements in earthquake-proof construction. Starting with the Kasumigaseki Building (147 metres) in 1968, skyscrapers began to dominate Tokyo's skyline. During this period of rapid rebuilding, Tokyo celebrated its 500th anniversary in 1956 and
9016-602: The Toei Shinjuku subway line and the Keiō New Line are distinctively called Keiō New Line Shinjuku Station ( 新線新宿駅 , Shinsen Shinjuku-eki ) and consist of two platforms stretching east–west five floors beneath the Kōshū Kaidō avenue to the southwest of the JR section. The concourse is managed by Keio Corporation but is in a separate location from the main Keio platforms. Further south (and deeper underground) are
9177-439: The Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to ). This reorganization aimed to create a more centralized and efficient administrative structure to better manage resources, urban planning, and civil defence during wartime. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government thus became responsible for both prefectural and city functions while administering cities, towns, and villages in the suburban and rural areas. Although Japan enjoyed significant success in
9338-831: The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (1991). Kisho Kurokawa was also active in the city, and his works there include the National Art Center (2005) and the Nakagin Capsule Tower (1972). Other notable contemporary buildings in Tokyo include the Tokyo Dome , Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower , Roppongi Hills , Tokyo International Forum , and Asahi Beer Hall . As of October 2012, the official intercensal estimate showed 13.506 million people in Tokyo, with 9.214 million living within Tokyo's 23 wards. During
9499-495: The Tokyo Stock Exchange (1878). The rapid modernization of the country was driven from Tokyo, with its business districts such as Marunouchi filled with modern brick buildings and the railway network serving as a means to help the large influx of labour force needed to keep the development of the economy. The City of Tokyo was officially established on May 1, 1889. The Imperial Diet , the national legislature of
9660-568: The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) was the world's largest, with a market capitalization about 1.5 times that of the NYSE —the city is still a large financial hub, and the TSE remains among the world's top five major stock exchanges . Tokyo is categorized as an Alpha+ city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network . The city is also recognized as one of the world's most livable ones; it
9821-416: The Trans-Siberian Railway and other trunk lines in Asia. These plans were abandoned in 1943 as Japan's position in World War II worsened. However, some construction did commence on the line; several tunnels on the present-day Shinkansen date to the war-era project. Following the end of World War II, high-speed rail was forgotten for several years while traffic of passengers and freight steadily increased on
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#17327768711979982-490: The Tōhoku Shinkansen ; only the Shanghai maglev train , China Railway High-speed networks, and the Indonesian Jakarta-Bandung High-speed railway have commercial services that operate faster. Since 1970, development has also been underway for the Chūō Shinkansen , a planned maglev line from Tokyo to Osaka. On 21 April 2015, a seven-car L0 series maglev trainset set a world speed record of 603 km/h (375 mph). To enable high-speed operation, Shinkansen uses
10143-417: The Vietnam War . The station was a major site for student protests in 1968 and 1969 , the height of civil unrest in postwar Japan. On 21 October 1968, 290,000 marchers participated in International Anti-War Day, taking over Shinjuku station and forcing trains to stop. In May and June 1969, members of the antiwar group Beheiren carrying guitars and calling themselves "folk guerrillas" led weekly singalongs in
10304-431: The first Tokyo Olympics . The conventional Limited Express service took six hours and 40 minutes from Tokyo to Osaka, but the Shinkansen made the trip in just four hours, shortened to three hours and ten minutes by 1965. It enabled day trips between Tokyo and Osaka, the two largest metropolises in Japan, significantly changed the style of business and life of the Japanese people, and increased new traffic demand. The service
10465-402: The locomotive (also known as power car) configuration with the Renfe Class 102 and continues with it for the Talgo AVRIL because it is not possible to use powered bogies as part of Talgo's bogie design, which uses a modified Jacobs bogie with a single axle instead of two and allows the wheels to rotate independently of each other, on the ICE 2, TGV and KTX it is because it easily allows for
10626-478: The 154 passengers. Another derailment happened on 2 March 2013 on the Akita Shinkansen when the Komachi No. 25 train derailed in blizzard conditions in Daisen, Akita . No passengers were injured. In the event of an earthquake, an earthquake detection system can bring the train to a stop very quickly; newer trainsets are lighter and have stronger braking systems, allowing for quicker stopping. New anti-derailment devices were installed on tracks after analysis of
10787-499: The 1930s but canceled due to the war. However, due to the monetary contraction policy known as the Dodge Line , named after Joseph Dodge , the neoliberal economic advisor to MacArthur, the plan had to be reduced to a minimal one focusing on transport and other infrastructure. In 1947, the 35 pre-war special wards were reorganized into the current 23 wards . Tokyo did not experience fast economic growth until around 1950, when heavy industry output returned to pre-war levels. Since around
10948-432: The 1950s and 1960s, the government invested 6–7% of the national budget on disaster and risk reduction. A huge system of dams, levees and tunnels was constructed. The purpose is to manage heavy rain, typhonic rain, and river floods. Tokyo has currently the world's largest underground floodwater diversion facility called the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (MAOUDC). It took 13 years to build and
11109-415: The 20th and 21st centuries, Tokyo became the first city in Asia to host the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 1964, and again in 2021, and it also hosted three G7 summits in 1979, 1986, and 1993. Tokyo is an international research and development hub and an academic center with several major universities , including the University of Tokyo , the top-ranking university in the country. Tokyo Station
11270-436: The 26th Centenary of the Enthronement of Emperor Jimmu celebrations took place on a grand scale to boost morale and increase the sense of national identity in the same year. On 8 December 1941, Japan attacked the American bases at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii , entering the Second World War against the Allied Powers . The wartime regime greatly affected life in the city. In 1943, Tokyo City merged with Tokyo Prefecture to form
11431-458: The Basic Plan specified that the Jōetsu Shinkansen should start from Shinjuku , not Tokyo Station , which would have required building an additional 30 km (19 mi) of track between Shinjuku and Ōmiya. While no construction work was ever started, land along the proposed track, including an underground section leading to Shinjuku Station, remains reserved. If capacity on the Tokyo–Ōmiya section proves insufficient at some point, construction of
11592-452: The House of Representatives, 6 of whom were members of the ruling LDP in the 2021 election. The Tokyo at-large district , which covers the entire metropolis, sends 12 members to the House of Councillors . The mainland portion of Tokyo lies northwest of Tokyo Bay and measures about 90 km (56 mi) east to west and 25 km (16 mi) north to south. The average elevation in Tokyo
11753-728: The JR East station (2001–present) The station and other parts of the Toei Ōedo Line are referenced in the Digimon Adventure franchise. Contemporary British painter Carl Randall (who spent ten years living in Tokyo as an artist) depicted the station area in his large oil painting Shinjuku , exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London in 2013. Note : Stations in italics (Hatsudai and Hatagaya) are on
11914-515: The Keio department store. It consists of three platforms stretching north to south. An additional thin platform between Platforms 2 and 3 is used for alighting only. This suburban commuter line links Shinjuku to the city of Hachiōji to the west. Chest-high platform edge doors were introduced on the Keio Line platforms in March 2014. The doors are different colours for each platform; the doors on Platform 2 are green. The shared facilities for
12075-523: The L0 series could be a passenger train. The Shinkansen is very reliable thanks to several factors, including its near-total separation from slower traffic. There are separate laws governing interfering with or otherwise obstructing Shinkansen trains, tracks, or its operation. In 2016, JR Central reported that the Shinkansen's average delay from schedule per train was 24 seconds. This includes delays due to uncontrollable causes, such as natural disasters. Over
12236-542: The Meiji government, Edo was renamed Tokyo (Eastern Capital) on 3 September 1868. Emperor Meiji visited the city once at the end of that year and eventually moved there in 1869. Tokyo had already been the nation's political center for nearly three centuries, and the emperor's residence made it a de facto imperial capital as well, with the former Edo Castle becoming the Imperial Palace . Government ministries such as
12397-621: The Metro Promenade underground mall. Many department stores and shopping malls are built directly into the station. These include In addition to the above, the Metro Promenade, which is an underground mall owned by Tokyo Metro, extends eastwards from the station beneath Shinjuku-dori avenue, all the way to the adjacent Shinjuku-sanchōme station with 60 exits along the way. The Metro Promenade in turn connects to Shinjuku Subnade, another underground shopping mall, which leads onto Seibu Railway 's Seibu-Shinjuku station. Shinjuku Station
12558-641: The Mitsui Headquarters (1929), Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi flagship store (1914, refurbished in 1925), Takashimaya Nihonbashi flagship store (1932), Wako in Ginza (1932) and Isetan Shinjuku flagship store (1933). This spread of earthquake and fire-resistant architecture reached council housing too, most notably the Dōjunkai apartments . The 1930s saw the rise of styles that combined characteristics of both traditional Japanese and modern designs. Chuta Ito
12719-609: The Shinjuku–Ōmiya link may be reconsidered. In December 2009, then transport minister Seiji Maehara proposed a bullet train link to Haneda Airport , using an existing spur that connects the Tōkaidō Shinkansen to a train depot. JR Central called the plan "unrealistic" due to tight train schedules on the existing line, but reports said that Maehara wished to continue discussions on the idea. The succeeding minister has not indicated whether this proposal remains supported. While
12880-613: The Shinkansen projects designated in the Basic Plan of the Shinkansen Railway [ ja ] decided by the government. The Narita Shinkansen project to connect Tokyo to Narita International Airport , initiated in the 1970s but halted in 1983 after landowner protests, has been officially cancelled and removed from the Basic Plan governing Shinkansen construction. Parts of its planned right-of-way were used by
13041-500: The Shinkansen's 60-plus year history, carrying over 10 billion passengers, there have been no passenger fatalities due to train accidents such as derailments or collisions, despite frequent earthquakes and typhoons. Injuries and a single fatality have been caused by doors closing on passengers or their belongings; attendants are employed at platforms to prevent such accidents. There have, however, been suicides by passengers jumping both from and in front of moving trains. On 30 June 2015,
13202-529: The Tokaido, San'yō, and Kyushu lines form a contiguous west/southbound line from Tokyo, as train services run between the Tokaido and San'yō lines and between the San'yō and Kyushu lines, though the lines are operated by different companies. The Tokaido Shinkansen tracks are not physically connected to the lines of the Tohoku Shinkansen at Tokyo Station, as they use different electrification standards, signaling systems, and earthquake mitigation devices. There also exists
13363-426: The US dollar, had a devastating effect on Japan's manufacturing sector, particularly affecting small to mid-size companies based in Tokyo. This led the government to adopt a domestic-demand-focused economic policy, ultimately causing an asset price bubble . Land redevelopment projects were planned across the city, and real estate prices skyrocketed. By 1990, the estimated value of the Imperial Palace surpassed that of
13524-520: The US seized control of the Mariana Islands . From these islands, newly developed long-range B-29 bombers could conduct return journeys. The bombing of Tokyo in 1944 and 1945 is estimated to have killed between 75,000 and 200,000 civilians and left more than half of the city destroyed. The deadliest night of the war came on March 9–10, 1945, the night of the American " Operation Meetinghouse " raid. Nearly 700,000 incendiary bombs were dropped on
13685-577: The administrative boundaries of Tokyo Metropolis are two island chains in the Pacific Ocean directly south: the Izu Islands , and the Ogasawara Islands , which stretch more than 1,000 km (620 mi) away from the mainland. Because of these islands and the mountainous regions to the west, Tokyo's overall population density figures far under-represent the real figures for the urban and suburban regions of Tokyo. The former city of Tokyo and
13846-478: The area that had been Tokyo City until 1943, 30 other municipalities are located in the Tama area , and the remaining 9 are on Tokyo's outlying islands. Tokyo has enacted a measure to cut greenhouse gases. Governor Shintaro Ishihara created Japan's first emissions cap system , aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emission by a total of 25% by 2020 from the 2000 level. Tokyo is an example of an urban heat island , and
14007-628: The burning device. The station facilities on the Marunouchi Line were inherited by Tokyo Metro after the privatization of the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA) in 2004. Station numbering was introduced to the Odakyu terminal in 2014 with Shinjuku being assigned station number OH01. A major expansion of the JR terminal was completed in April 2016, adding a 32-story office tower, bus terminal, taxi terminal, and numerous shops and restaurants. Station numbering
14168-744: The capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond long-distance travel, some sections around the largest metropolitan areas are used as a commuter rail network. It is owned by the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency and operated by five Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tokaido Shinkansen (515.4 km; 320.3 mi) in 1964, the network has expanded to consist of 2,951.3 km (1,833.9 mi) of lines with maximum speeds of 260–320 km/h (160–200 mph), 283.5 km (176.2 mi) of Mini-shinkansen lines with
14329-562: The city. The climate of Chichijima in Ogasawara village is on the boundary between the tropical savanna climate (Köppen classification: Aw ) and the tropical rainforest climate (Köppen classification: Af ). It is approximately 1,000 km (621 mi) south of the Greater Tokyo Area , resulting in much different climatic conditions. Tokyo's easternmost territory, the island of Minamitorishima in Ogasawara village ,
14490-599: The construction of the first Shinkansen are Hideo Shima , the Chief Engineer, and Shinji Sogō , the first President of Japanese National Railways (JNR) who managed to persuade politicians to back the plan. Other significant people responsible for its technical development were Tadanao Miki, Tadashi Matsudaira, and Hajime Kawanabe based at the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI), part of JNR. They were responsible for much of
14651-532: The conventional Tōkaidō Main Line along with the reconstruction of Japanese industry and economy. By the mid-1950s the Tōkaidō Line was operating at full capacity, and the Ministry of Railways decided to revisit the Shinkansen project. In 1957, Odakyu Electric Railway introduced its 3000 series SE Romancecar train, setting a world speed record of 145 km/h (90 mph) for a narrow gauge train when JNR leased
14812-535: The conventional loading gauge for 1,067mm lines still applies on mini-Shinkansen lines. The Shinkansen has used EMUs from the outset, with the 0 Series Shinkansen having all axles powered. Other railway manufacturers were traditionally reluctant or unable to use distributed traction configurations ( Talgo , the German ICE 2 and the French (and subsequently South Korean) TGV (and KTX-I and KTX-Sancheon ) use
14973-531: The country's total economic output, which converts to 8.07 million yen or US$ 73,820 per capita. Including the Greater Tokyo Area, Tokyo is the second-largest metropolitan economy in the world after New York , with a 2022 gross metropolitan product estimated at US$ 2.08 trillion. Although Tokyo's status as a leading global financial hub has diminished with the Lost Decades since the 1990s—when
15134-636: The country, leading to Japan joining the Second World War as an Axis power . Due to the country's political isolation on the international stage caused by its military aggression in China and the increasingly unstable geopolitical situations in Europe, Тоkуо had to give up hosting the 1940 Summer Olympics in 1938. Rationing started in June 1940 as the nation braced itself for another world war, while
15295-524: The country, was established in Tokyo in 1889, and it has ever since been operating in the city. On 1 September 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake struck the city, and the earthquake and subsequent fire killed an estimated 105,000 citizens. The loss amounted to 37 percent of the country's economic output. On the other hand, the destruction provided an opportunity to reconsider the planning of the city, which had changed its shape hastily after
15456-442: 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 , Chūō , and Minato , whose collective population as of the 2005 National Census was 326,000 at night, but 2.4 million during the day. According to April 2024 official estimates, Setagaya (942,003), Nerima (752,608), and Ota (748,081) were
15617-460: The early Meiji period , the city was sometimes called "Tōkei", an alternative pronunciation for the same characters representing "Tokyo", making it a kanji homograph . Some surviving official English documents use the spelling "Tokei"; however, this pronunciation is now obsolete. Tokyo was originally a village called Edo , part of the old Musashi Province . Edo was first fortified by the Edo clan in
15778-581: The earthquake and new cultural and liberal political movements, such as Taishō Democracy , spread, the 1930s saw an economic downturn caused by the Great Depression and major political turmoil. Two attempted military coups d'état happened in Tokyo, the May 15 incident in 1932 and the February 26 incident in 1936. This turmoil eventually allowed the military wings of the government to take control of
15939-482: The east end of the city ( shitamachi , 下町), an area with a high concentration of factories and working-class houses. Two-fifths of the city were completely burned, more than 276,000 buildings were destroyed, 100,000 civilians were killed, and 110,000 more were injured. Numerous Edo and Meiji-era buildings of historical significance were destroyed, including the main building of the Imperial Palace , Sensō-ji , Zōjō-ji , Sengaku-ji and Kabuki-za . Between 1940 and 1945,
16100-680: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic ), rail projects in the vicinity of Haneda Airport, including the Haneda Airport Access Line and the Tokyo Rinkai Subway Line , continue to undergo planning. Originally intended to carry passenger trains by day and freight trains by night, the Shinkansen lines carried exclusively passengers for the first five and a half decades of their operation. Lght freight has been carried on some passenger services since 2019, and there are plans to expand this with freight-only trains in
16261-521: The entire state of California . The Tokyo Stock Exchange became the largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization, with the Tokyo-based NTT becoming the most highly valued company globally. After the bubble burst in the early 1990s, Japan experienced a prolonged economic downturn called the " Lost Decades ", which was charactized by extremely low or negative economic growth, deflation, stagnant asset prices. Tokyo's status as
16422-517: The five-storey pagoda and the Shimizudo. The Nezu Shrine and Gokokuji were built by the fifth shogun Tsunayoshi Tokugawa in the late 1600s. All feudal lords ( daimyo ) had large Edo houses where they stayed when in Edo; at one point, these houses amounted to half the total area of Edo. None of the grand Edo-era daimyo houses still exist in Tokyo, as their vast land footprint made them easy targets for redevelopment programs for modernization during
16583-904: The future. The system shuts down between midnight and 06:00 every day for maintenance. Japan's few remaining overnight passenger trains run on the older, narrow-gauge network that the Shinkansen parallels. There are three principal service types on the Shinkansen: Trains are up to sixteen cars long. With each car measuring 25 m (82 ft) in length, the longest trains are 400 m ( 1 ⁄ 4 mile) end to end. Stations are similarly long to accommodate these trains. Some of Japan's high-speed maglev trains are considered Shinkansen, while other slower maglev trains (such as Linimo , serving local communities in and nearby Nagoya , Aichi Prefecture ) are intended as alternatives to conventional urban rapid transit systems. These trains were and are used only for experimental runs, though
16744-520: The ground level, on the west side of Shinjuku Station. Keiō Shinjuku Station and Shōsen Shinjuku Ekimae Station were closed. This was because the trains faced difficulty in climbing up the slopes of the bridge over the governmental railway after one of the nearby transformer substations was destroyed by an air raid . The site of Keiō Shinjuku Station near Shinjuku-Sanchōme subway station is now occupied by two buildings owned by Keiō: Keiō Shinjuku Sanchōme Building and Keiō Shinjuku Oiwake Building. Shinjuku
16905-461: The high cost of building the Shinkansen network. By the early 1980s, the company was practically insolvent, leading to its privatization in 1987. Development of the Shinkansen by the privatised regional JR companies has continued, with new train models developed, each generally with its own distinctive appearance (such as the 500 series introduced by JR West ). Since 2014, Shinkansen trains run regularly at speeds up to 320 km/h (200 mph) on
17066-458: The highest annual passenger ridership (a maximum of 386 million in 2007) of any high-speed rail network until 2011, when the Chinese high-speed railway network surpassed it at 370 million passengers annually, reaching over 2.9 billion annual passengers in 2023. Shinkansen ( 新幹線 ) in Japanese means 'new trunk line' or 'new main line', but this word is used to describe both the railway lines
17227-490: The initial stages of the war and rapidly expanded its sphere of influence, the Doolittle Raid on 18 April 1942, marked the first direct foreign attack on Tokyo. Although the physical damage was minimal, the raid demonstrated the vulnerability of the Japanese mainland to air attacks and boosted American morale. Large-scale Allied air bombing of cities in the Japanese home islands, including Tokyo, began in late 1944 when
17388-424: The late 1940s, Tokyo underwent rapid reconstruction and expansion that contributed to the era's so-called Japanese economic miracle in which Japan's economy propelled to the second-largest in the world at the time behind that of the United States . As of 2023 , the city is home to 29 of the world's 500 largest companies, as listed in the annual Fortune Global 500 ; the second-highest number of any city. In
17549-500: The late twelfth century. In 1457, Ōta Dōkan built Edo Castle to defend the region from the Chiba clan . After Dōkan was assassinated in 1486, the castle and the area came to be possessed by several feudal lords. In 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu was granted the Kantō region by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and moved there from his ancestral land of Mikawa Province . He greatly expanded the castle, which
17710-553: The latter is the tallest tower in both Japan and the world, and the second tallest structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai . With a scheduled completion date in 2027, Torch Tower (385m) will overtake Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower (325.2m) as the tallest building in Tokyo. Kenzo Tange designed notable contemporary buildings in Tokyo, including Yoyogi National Gymnasium (1964), St. Mary's Cathedral (1967), and
17871-713: The main palace buildings and the tenshu tower have been lost. Numerous temple and shrine buildings in Tokyo date from this era: the Ueno Toshogu still maintains the original 1651 building built by the third shogun Iemitsu Tokugawa . Although partially destroyed during the Second World War, Zojo-ji , which houses the Tokugawa family mausoleum, still has grand Edo-era buildings such as the Sangedatsu gate. Kaneiji has grand 17th-century buildings such as
18032-437: The majority of Tokyo prefecture lie in the humid subtropical climate zone ( Köppen climate classification : Cfa ), with hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters with occasional cold spells. The region, like much of Japan, experiences a one-month seasonal lag . The warmest month is August, which averages 26.9 °C (80.4 °F). The coolest month is January, averaging 5.4 °C (41.7 °F). The record low temperature
18193-422: The majority of its resources to rebuilding in the wake of the consistent fires, earthquakes , and other devastating natural disasters that plagued the city. Edo grew into one of the largest cities in the world with a population reaching one million by the 18th century. This prolonged period of seclusion however came to an end with the arrival of American Commodore Matthew C. Perry in 1853. Commodore Perry forced
18354-459: The marriage of a shogun's daughter into the Maeda clan , one of the most affluent of the feudal lords, while the campus itself occupies their former edo estate. The Meiji era saw a rapid modernization in architectural styles as well; until the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 exposed their weakness to seimic shocks, grand brick buildings were constantly built across the city. Tokyo Station (1914),
18515-590: The meeting of the Sumida River and Tokyo Bay . During the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the name of the city was changed to Tokyo ( 東京 , from 東 tō "east", and 京 kyō "capital") , when it became the new imperial capital, in line with the East Asian tradition of including the word capital ( 京 ) in the name of the capital city (for example, Kyoto ( 京都 ), Keijō ( 京城 ), Beijing ( 北京 ), Nanjing ( 南京 ), and Xijing ( 西京 )). During
18676-455: The more common 4-abreast (2+2) seating usually found elsewhere. On occasions, this wider loading gauge was also used to allow 6-abreast seating (3+3) on certain trains, such as the E1 and E4 series sets. This, combined with a lack of power cars, allows for a higher passenger capacity within a shorter train length. However, since mini-Shinkansen lines are effectively track-regauged conventional lines,
18837-413: The most populous wards and municipalities in Tokyo. The least inhabited of all Tokyo municipalities are remote island villages such as Aogashima (150), Mikurajima (289), and Toshima (306). In 2021, Tokyo's average and median ages were both 45.5 years old. This is below the national median age of 49.0, placing Tokyo among the youngest regions in Japan. 16.8% of the population was below 15, while 34.6%
18998-408: The new gateway to the city, while the relatively small Haneda Airport switched to primarily domestic flights. West Shinjuku , which had been occupied by the vast Yodobashi Water Purification Centre until 1965, became the site of an entirely new business district characterized by skyscrapers surpassing 200 metres during this period. The American-led Plaza Accord in 1985, which aimed to depreciate
19159-418: The official number of passengers entering and exiting (except for JR East) each day released by each train operator. The figure for JR East only includes entering passengers. Average number of passengers per day by fiscal year for the JR East station (1913–1935) Average number of passengers per day by fiscal year for the JR East station (1953–2000) Average number of passengers per day by fiscal year for
19320-444: The one-year period preceding March 2017, it carried 159 million passengers, and since its opening more than six decades ago, it has transported more than 6.4 billion total passengers. At peak times, the line carries up to 16 trains per hour in each direction with 16 cars each (1,323-seat capacity and occasionally additional standing passengers) with a minimum headway of three minutes between trains. The Shinkansen network of Japan had
19481-553: The opening of the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate , leading to an increase in the demand for new foreign goods and subsequently a severe rise in inflation. Social unrest mounted in the wake of these higher prices and culminated in widespread rebellions and demonstrations, especially in the form of the "smashing" of rice establishments. Meanwhile, supporters of the Emperor leveraged the disruption caused by widespread rebellious demonstrations to further consolidate power, which resulted in
19642-554: The overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate , for the first time in a few centuries, the Emperor ceased to be a mere figurehead and became both the de facto and de jure ruler of the country. Hisoka Maejima advocated for the relocation of the capital functions to Tokyo, recognizing the advantages of the existing infrastructure and the vastness of the Kanto Plain compared to the relatively small Kyoto basin . After being handed over to
19803-638: The overthrow of the last Tokugawa shōgun, Yoshinobu , in 1867. After 265 years, the Pax Tokugawa came to an end. In May 1868, Edo castle was handed to the Emperor-supporting forces after negotiation (the Fall of Edo ). Some forces loyal to the shogunate kept fighting, but with their loss in the Battle of Ueno on 4 July 1868, the entire city came under the control of the new government . After
19964-489: The phenomenon is especially serious in its special wards. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the annual mean temperature has increased by about 3 °C (5.4 °F) over the past 100 years. Tokyo has been cited as a "convincing example of the relationship between urban growth and climate". In 2006, Tokyo enacted the "10 Year Project for Green Tokyo" to be realized by 2016. It set
20125-599: The plan may become more feasible after the opening the Chūō Shinkansen (sometimes referred to as a bypass to the Tokaido Shinkansen) frees up capacity, construction is already underway for other rail improvements between Haneda and Tokyo station expected to be completed prior to the opening of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics , so any potential Shinkansen service would likely offer only marginal benefit. Despite these plans ultimately not being realized (owing in part due to
20286-576: The population of Tokyo dwindled from 6,700,000 to less than 2,800,000, as soldiers were sent to the front and children were evacuated. After the war, Tokyo became the base from which the Allied Occupation Forces , under Douglas MacArthur , an American general, administered Japan for six years. The original rebuilding plan of Tokyo was based on a plan modelled after the Metropolitan Green Belt of London , devised in
20447-458: The possibility of high-speed rail , and the Shinkansen project was implemented. Government approval came in December 1958, and construction of the first segment of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka started in April 1959. The cost of constructing the Shinkansen was at first estimated at nearly 200 billion yen, which was raised in the form of a government loan, railway bonds and
20608-866: The public on limited occasions. Aristocratic residences today open to the public include the Marquess Maeda residence in Komaba , the Baron Iwasaki residence in Ikenohata and the Baron Furukawa residence in Nishigahara. The Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 ushered in an era of concrete architecture. Surviving reinforced concrete buildings from this era include the Meiji Insurance Headquarters (completed in 1934),
20769-553: The resignation of her predecessor, Yoichi Masuzoe . She was re-elected in 2020 and in 2024. The legislature of the Metropolis is called the Metropolitan Assembly , and it has one house with 127 seats. The assembly is responsible for enacting and amending prefectural ordinances, approving the budget (8.5 trillion yen in fiscal 2024), and voting on important administrative appointments made by the governor, including
20930-587: The seat of the Tokugawa shogunate . By the mid-18th century, Edo was among the world's largest cities, with over a million residents. Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the imperial capital in Kyoto was moved to Edo, and the city was renamed Tokyo ( lit. ' Eastern Capital ' ). In 1923, Tokyo was damaged substantially by the Great Kantō earthquake , and the city was later badly damaged by allied bombing raids during World War II . Beginning in
21091-515: The second floor). In the late 1980s, Seibu planned to build an underground terminal on the east side of Shinjuku but indefinitely postponed the plan in 1995 due to costs and declining passenger growth. On 8 August 1967, a freight train carrying jet fuel bound for the U.S. air bases at Tachikawa and Yokota collided with another freight train and caught fire on the Chūō Rapid tracks. The incident stoked ongoing political controversy in Japan regarding
21252-635: The shinkansen is not affected by slower local or freight trains (except for Hokkaido Shinkansen while traveling through the Seikan Tunnel ), and has the capacity to operate many high-speed trains punctually. In addition, shinkansen routes (excluding mini-shinkansen) are completely grade separated from roads and highways, meaning railway crossings are almost eliminated. Tracks are strictly off-limits with penalties against trespassing strictly regulated by law. The routes use tunnels and viaducts to go through and over obstacles rather than around them, with
21413-587: The smaller municipal governments which make up the metropolis. Notable special wards in Tokyo include Chiyoda , the site of the National Diet Building and the Tokyo Imperial Palace ; Shinjuku , the city's administrative center; and Shibuya , a commercial, cultural, and business hub in the city. Before the 17th century, Tokyo, then known as Edo , was mainly a fishing village. It gained political prominence in 1603 when it became
21574-407: The technical development of the first line, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen . All three had worked on aircraft design during World War II . The popular English name bullet train is a literal translation of the Japanese term dangan ressha ( 弾丸列車 ) , a nickname given to the project while it was initially discussed in the 1930s. The name stuck because of the original 0 Series Shinkansen 's resemblance to
21735-588: The terminal were on the Kōshū Kaidō highway, which crosses the Yamanote Line and the Chūō Line in front of the south entrance of Shinjuku Station by a bridge. The Keiō Line had a station for access to Shinjuku Station, named Teishajō-mae Station ( 停車場前駅 ) and renamed in 1937 Shōsen Shinjuku Ekimae Station ( 省線新宿駅前駅 ) . In July 1945, the terminal of the Keiō Line was relocated to the present location, though on
21896-486: The time the Allied occupation of Japan ended in 1952, Tokyo's focus shifted from rebuilding to developing beyond its pre-war stature. From the 1950s onwards, Tokyo's Metro and railway network saw significant expansion, culminating in the launch of the world's first dedicated high-speed railway line, the Shinkansen , between Tokyo and Osaka in 1964. The same year saw the development of other transport infrastructure such as
22057-514: The total to 700,000. As of 2014 , roadside trees in Tokyo have increased to 950,000, and a further 300 ha (740 acres) of green space has been added. Tokyo is the seat of all three branches of government : the legislature ( National Diet ), the executive ( Cabinet led by the Prime Minister ), and the judiciary ( Supreme Court of Japan ), as well as the Emperor of Japan , the head of state. Most government ministries are concentrated in
22218-508: The track because of the use of lighter vehicles compared to locomotives or power cars. The coaches are air-sealed to ensure stable air pressure when entering tunnels at high speed. Shinkansen trains (excluding mini-Shinkansen) are also built to a larger loading gauge compared to conventional-speed rolling stock. This larger loading gauge permits wider coaches, allowing for 5-abreast seating (2+3) in Standard Class coaches, compared to
22379-594: The track slab from moving latitudinally or longitudinally. One track slab weighs approximately 5 tons and is 2,220–2,340 mm (87–92 inches) wide, 4,900–4,950 mm (193–195 inches) long and 160–200 mm (6.3–7.9 inches) thick. The Shinkansen employs an ATC (Automatic Train Control) system, eliminating the need for trackside signals. It uses a comprehensive system of Automatic Train Protection . Centralized traffic control manages all train operations, and all tasks relating to train movement, track, station and schedule are networked and computerized. Shinkansen uses
22540-405: The traditional Keio Line stub terminal and a separate through station connecting the Keio New Line with the Toei Shinjuku Line. In 2019, 788,567 passengers used the Keio complex daily (Keio and Keio New Lines), which makes it among the busiest among the non- JR Group railways of Japan. The Keio Line concourse is located to the west of the Odakyu line concourse, two floors below ground level under
22701-420: The trains run on and the trains themselves. In English, the trains are also known as the bullet train. The term bullet train ( 弾丸列車 , dangan ressha ) originates from 1939, and was the initial name given to the Shinkansen project in its earliest planning stages. Furthermore, the name super express ( 超特急 , chō-tokkyū ) , used exclusively until 1972 for Hikari trains on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen ,
22862-430: The two north-to-south Toei Ōedo subway line platforms. Toei Ōedo Line 's two underground platforms stretch north–south to the south of the Toei Shinjuku Line and Keio New Line facilities. This is on the 7th basement floor of Tokyo prefectural road 414(Yotsuya-Tsunohazu Ave.). Tokyo Metro 's two Marunouchi Line underground platforms stretch east–west to the north of the JR and Odakyu facilities, directly below
23023-470: The underground plaza outside the west exit of the station, attracting crowds of thousands. Participants described it as a "liberated zone" and a "community of encounter." In July, riot police cleared the plaza with tear gas and changed signs in the station to read "West Exit Concourse" instead of "West Exit Plaza." The incident represented a significant defeat for public activism in Tokyo. There have been plans at various points in history to connect Shinjuku to
23184-400: The vice governors. Its members are also elected on a four-year cycle. Since the completion of the Great Mergers of Heisei in 2001, Tokyo consists of 62 municipalities : 23 special wards , 26 cities , 5 towns and 8 villages . All municipalities in Japan have a directly elected mayor and a directly elected assembly, each elected on independent four-year cycles. The 23 Special Wards cover
23345-413: The west of the JR station. These plans were suspended upon the onset of World War II but influenced the current layout of the station area. Subway service ultimately began in 1959. The Seibu Shinjuku Line was extended from Takadanobaba Station to Seibu Shinjuku Station in 1952. Seibu Shinjuku was built as a temporary station pending a planned redevelopment of the east side of Shinjuku Station, which
23506-441: The wind blows north-east it could send volcanic ash to Tokyo metropolis. According to the government, less than a millimeter of the volcanic ash from a Mount Fuji eruption could cause power grid problems such as blackouts and stop trains in the Tokyo metropolitan area. A mixture of ash with rain could stick to cellphone antennas, power lines and cause temporary power outages. The affected areas would need to be evacuated. Tokyo
23667-417: The world . The Greater Tokyo Area , which includes Tokyo and parts of six neighboring prefectures , is the most-populous metropolitan area in the world, with 41 million residents as of 2024 . Located at the head of Tokyo Bay , Tokyo is part of the Kantō region on the central coast of Honshu , Japan's largest island. Tokyo serves as Japan's economic center and the seat of both the Japanese government and
23828-406: Was English (209 residents), followed by American (182) and Chinese nationals (137). Shinkansen The Shinkansen ( Japanese : 新幹線 , [ɕiŋkaꜜɰ̃seɴ] , lit. ' new trunk line ' ) , colloquially known in English as the bullet train , is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan . It was initially built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo ,
23989-630: Was a leading figure in this movement, and his extant works in Tokyo include Tsukiji Hongan-ji (1934). The Imperial Crown Style , which often features Japanese-style roofs on top of elevated concrete structures, was adopted for the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno and the Kudan Hall in Kudanminami . Since the 30-metre height restriction was lifted in the 1960s, Tokyo's most dense areas have been dominated by skyscrapers. As of May 2024, there are at least 184 buildings exceeding 150 metres (492 feet) in Tokyo. Apart from these, Tokyo Tower (333m) and Tokyo Sky Tree (634m) feature high-elevation observation decks;
24150-447: Was above 65. In the same year, the youngest municipalities in Tokyo were Mikura-jima (average age 40.72), Chuo (41.92), and Chiyoda (42.07), while the oldest included Okutama (59.11) and Miyake (53.82). In 1889, the Home Ministry recorded 1,375,937 people in Tokyo City and a total of 1,694,292 people in Tokyo-fu . In the same year, a total of 779 foreign nationals were recorded as residing in Tokyo. The most common nationality
24311-571: Was an immediate success, reaching the 100 million passenger mark in less than three years on 13 July 1967, and one billion passengers in 1976. Sixteen-car trains were introduced for Expo '70 in Osaka. With an average of 23,000 passengers per hour in each direction in 1992, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen was the world's busiest high-speed rail line. As of 2014, the train's 50th anniversary, daily passenger traffic rose to 391,000 which, spread over its 18-hour schedule, represented an average of just under 22,000 passengers per hour. The first Shinkansen trains,
24472-415: Was based in Kyoto from 794 to 1868, so Edo was still not the capital of Japan. During the Edo period , the city enjoyed a prolonged period of peace known as the Pax Tokugawa , and in the presence of such peace, the shogunate adopted a stringent policy of seclusion, which helped to perpetuate the lack of any serious military threat to the city. The absence of war-inflicted devastation allowed Edo to devote
24633-410: Was completed in 1975. Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka was an ardent supporter of the Shinkansen, and his government proposed an extensive network paralleling most existing trunk lines. Two new lines, the Tōhoku Shinkansen and Jōetsu Shinkansen , were built following this plan. Many other planned lines were delayed or scrapped entirely as JNR slid into debt throughout the late 1970s, largely because of
24794-430: Was completed in 2006. The MAOUDC is a 6.3 km (3.9 mi) long system of tunnels, 22 meters (72 ft) underground, with 70-meter (230 ft) tall cylindrical tanks, each tank being large enough to fit a space shuttle or the Statue of Liberty. During floods, excess water is collected from rivers and drained to the Edo River . Low-lying areas of Kōtō , Edogawa , Sumida , Katsushika , Taitō and Arakawa near
24955-418: Was introduced to the JR East platforms in 2016 with Shinjuku being assigned station numbers JB10 for the Chūō-Sobu line, JS20 for the Shonan-Shinjuku line, JA11 for the Saikyō line, JC05 for the Chuo line rapid, and JY17 for the Yamanote line. At the same time, JR East assigned the station a 3-letter code to its major transfer stations; Shinjuku was assigned the code "SJK". In 2020, the east–west free passageway
25116-512: Was located several blocks east of the government railway (presently JR) station. The terminal was first named Shinjuku-Oiwake Station ( 新宿追分駅 ) and was on the street near the Isetan department store. In 1927, the station was moved from the street to a newly built terminal adjacent to the original station. The station building housed a department store. The station name was changed to Yotsuya-Shinjuku Station ( 四谷新宿駅 ) in 1930 and again to Keiō Shinjuku Station ( 京王新宿駅 ) in 1937. The tracks from
25277-434: Was opened, shortening the time required for pedestrians to pass between the east and west exits by 10 minutes. A major redevelopment of the station and the surrounding area began in July 2021 with the aim of improving pedestrian flow and making it easier and faster to cut through the east and west sides of the station. Construction is expected to continue until 2047. When the Keio Line extended to Shinjuku in 1915, its terminal
25438-431: Was ranked fourth in the world in the 2021 edition of the Global Livability Ranking . Tokyo has also been ranked as the safest city in the world in multiple international surveys. Tokyo was originally known as Edo ( 江戸 ) , a kanji compound of 江 ( e , "cove, inlet") and 戸 ( to , "entrance, gate, door"). The name, which can be translated as " estuary ", is a reference to the original settlement's location at
25599-423: Was said to have been abandoned and in tatters when he moved there, and ruled the region from there. When he became shōgun , the de facto ruler of the country, in 1603, the whole country came to be ruled from Edo. While the Tokugawa shogunate ruled the country in practice, the Imperial House of Japan was still the de jure ruler, and the title of shōgun was granted by the Emperor as a formality. The Imperial House
25760-407: Was to feature a large station building that would house a new Seibu terminal on its second floor. Seibu abandoned its plan to use the building due to a lack of space for trains longer than six cars; the building is now known as Lumine Est and retains some design features originally intended to accommodate the Seibu terminal (in particular, a very high ceiling on the first floor and a very low ceiling on
25921-407: Was −9.2 °C (15.4 °F) on January 13, 1876. The record high was 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) on July 20, 2004. The record highest low temperature is 30.3 °C (86.5 °F), on August 12, 2013, making Tokyo one of only seven observation sites in Japan that have recorded a low temperature over 30 °C (86.0 °F). Annual rainfall averages nearly 1,600 millimeters (63.0 in), with
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