Tokyo

Bullet trains at Tokyo station, Japan. The Shinkansen railway network had to build wide-gauge tracks to carry the bullet trains; the standard width being unsuited to their design. The first wide-gauge segment was built between Tokyo and Osaka.

Street scene outside Shibuya Station in Tokyo, Japan. By day a busy shopping zone, in the evening it is a popular area for entertainment.

An overview of Japan's capital city, Tokyo, on the island of Honshu. The city suffers from high levels of pollution and traffic congestion, due to the acute shortage of land in relation to its growth.

Octopus being prepared for sale at the Tokyo fish market.

A view of Tokyo, Japan. Large cities contain a large concentration of high-rise buildings. Downtown Tokyo has very little open space; the cost of the land is very high, thus developers build tower blocks to increase the amount of overall floor space. In the far distance is Shinjuku, one of the most important commercial suburbs of Tokyo.

Shinjuku, a commercial district of Tokyo. The centre of a city is characterized by high-rise buildings and a concentration of public transport. Land prices in the central business district are very high, hence commercial and retail functions dominate. Owing to the advanced public transport system, the city centre is very accessible and attracts large numbers of shoppers and visitors, although large cities such as Tokyo tend to become congested.

Capital of Japan, on Honshu island; population (2000 est) 8,130,000. It is Japan's main cultural, commercial, financial and industrial centre (engineering, chemicals, textiles, electrical goods).

Founded in the 16th century as Yedo (or Edo), it was renamed when the emperor moved his court here from Kyoto in 1868. By the end of the 18th century, Yedo, with 1 million people, was the largest city in the world. An earthquake in 1923 killed 58,000 people and destroyed much of the city, which was again severely damaged by Allied bombing in World War II when 60% of Tokyo's housing was destroyed; US firebomb raids of 1945 were particularly destructive with over 100,000 people killed in just one night of bombing on 9 March. The subsequent rebuilding has made it into one of the world's most modern cities.

Features include the Imperial Palace, National Diet (parliament), Asakusa Kannon Temple (7th century, rebuilt after World War II), National Theatre, National Museum and other art collections, Tokyo Disneyland, and the National Athletic Stadium. The Sumida River delta separates the city from its suburb of Honjo. The city is the dominant centre of higher education in Japan, containing one-third of the country's universities, including Tokyo University (1877).

Location Tokyo is sited in southeast Honshu, on the northwest shore of Tokyo Bay, on the delta of the Sumida River, which separates the city proper on the west bank from the Koto on the east. The city consists of 23 wards, and is the capital of a prefecture (Tokyo-to) which includes 22 other cities and, offshore, Izu and Ogasawara islands.

Features Edo castle was founded in 1457 by Ota Dokan. The surrounding settlement decayed until refounded in 1590 by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The city received its present name, which means Eastern capital, when the court moved from Kyoto in 1868; the following year, it was opened to foreigners. The magnificent palace, in a blend of Japanese and European styles, stands in the Fukiage park, not far from the ancient castle. To the east of the palace lies the commercial and industrial part of the city, while the northern part is mainly educational and contains many universities, colleges, and temples. In the west and southwest are the foreign embassies and legations. A quarter-scale reproduction of the Statue of Liberty was unveiled in December 2000.

Industry Tokyo functions as the nucleus of Japan's largest industrial region, and is the centre of a zone of factories which produce over 30% of the value of Japan's output of manufactured goods. Although heavy industries are concentrated in neighbouring cities such as Kawasaki, Yokohama, and Chiba, Tokyo is nevertheless important as a manufacturing centre in its own right. A high proportion of its factories are small-scale enterprises, and many of them manufacture components which are assembled in plants outside the city boundaries. Industries include food and beverages, printing and publishing, chemicals, textiles, electrical machinery, cameras, optical goods, precision instruments, and rubber. Industrial development has brought about serious atmospheric pollution and the city also suffers from traffic congestion and many other problems associated with acute shortage of land.

Media and culture The city is served by eight television channels and eight radio stations, and is the headquarters for the national newspaper companies, and for nearly all the leading national commercial and industrial companies, located especially in the Ginza and Marunouchi districts. The latter district also contains many large department stores, cinemas, and theatres.

Transport There is an extensive network of underground railways and an urban motorway system. Tokyo has one of the three largest subway networks in the world, with New York and London. Over 1.5 million commuters travel to work in central Tokyo each day from the suburbs and from surrounding cities. Tokyo has its own seaport, Yokohama, 30 km/19 mi away, and airports. International flights are served by Narita airport and domestic flights by Haneda airport, 16 km/10 mi south of the city.

Disasters Tokyo has suffered frequently from fire (many of the houses were, and still are, built of wood), storms, earthquakes, and epidemics. The municipal buildings had to be rebuilt after the fire of 1891. In September 1923, great portions of the city were destroyed by a disastrous earthquake and the ensuing fire. Nearly 100,000 people were killed, and nearly a million migrated after the disaster. Reconstruction work was begun at once and completed by March 1930. Tokyo was frequently and heavily bombed during World War II, and according to official estimates, more than 80% of the houses were completely destroyed.