Chūō, Tokyo

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Template:Short description Template:Infobox settlement

Nihonbashi in the Edo period
Nihonbashi in 1922
Night in Nihonbashi

Template:Nihongo is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The ward refers to itself in English as Chūō City. It was formed in 1947 as a merger of Kyōbashi and Nihonbashi wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis.

Chūō-ku, as a combination of Kyōbashi and Nihonbashi, is the core of Shitamachi,<ref name="kokushishitamachi">Template:Cite book</ref> the original downtown center of Edo-Tokyo. Literally meaning "Central Ward", it is historically the main commercial center of Tokyo, although Shinjuku has risen to challenge it since the end of World War II.

The most famous district in Chūō is Ginza, built on the site of a former silver mint from which it takes its name. The gold mint, or Template:Nihongo, formerly occupied the site of the present-day Bank of Japan headquarters building, also in Chūō.

As of October 1, 2020, the ward has a resident population of 169,179, and a population density of 16,569 persons per km2. The total area is 10.21 km2. However, because of the concentration of businesses, offices and retail space, the daytime population swells to an estimated 650,000.

Geography

Chūō is in the central area of Tokyo, surrounded by the five special wards of Chiyoda, Minato, Taitō, Sumida, and Kōtō.

Administratively, Chūō is divided into the three zones of Nihonbashi, Kyōbashi and Tsukishima. Nihonbashi and Kyōbashi are predominantly commercial areas on the east side of Tokyo Station, and incorporate the famous districts of Ginza and Tsukiji. Tsukishima is a separate island in Tokyo Bay dominated by condominium towers.

Until World War II, the area was crisscrossed by small rivers and canals, used by small boats which were the primary vehicles of commerce at the time. After the war, many of these waterways were filled in to make way for new roads, buildings and expressways. However, the former waterways are the basis for many of the neighborhood divisions in the ward. The Sumida River forms the eastern boundary of the ward.

Chūō is physically the second-smallest ward in Tokyo, with a total area of just 10.15 km2; only Taitō is smaller.

History

  • 1612: Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu, planning to establish Edo as the de facto capital of Japan, begins work on a new commercial district surrounding the eastern end of the Tōkaidō, the main road connecting Tokyo and the Kansai region. During the Edo period this area is known as Edomachi—the town center of Edo. Much of the area (particularly Ginza and Tsukiji) was loose sand piled at the delta of the Sumida River before being filled in by the shogunate.
  • 1657: After a fire consumes much of the city, the area is re-planned with more canals to accommodate more maritime commerce.
  • 1869: A foreigners' settlement is established in Tsukiji. It continues until about 1899.
  • 1872: A fire consumes much of the Ginza area. In its aftermath, the governor of Tokyo re-plans Ginza to be a modern European-style commercial district between Shinbashi (the city's main railway terminal at the time) to the south and Nihonbashi (the main business and financial district) to the north.
  • 1878: Under a new local organization statute, the wards of Nihonbashi and Kyōbashi are established under the government of Tokyo City, covering the area now occupied by Chūō.
  • 1945: Following Japan's defeat in World War II, several buildings are taken over by SCAP to serve as supply centers for the occupation forces. These include the Hattori Watch Company, the Matsuya department store and the Toshiba Building. The buildings are returned to Japanese civilian control by 1951.
  • 1947: Chūō Ward is founded on March 15 under the new Local Autonomy Law, merging the former Nihonbashi and Kyōbashi wards.

Districts and neighborhoods

Mitsukoshi Department Store
Tsukiji Hongwanji

Nihonbashi area (Template:Lang)

Kyōbashi area (Template:Lang)

Tsukishima area (Template:Lang)

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population has doubled since 2000 after decades of continuous rapid decline.Template:Historical populations

Economy

Ricoh is headquartered in the Ricoh Building in Chūō.<ref>"Company Data Template:Webarchive". Ricoh. Retrieved on January 13, 2009.</ref> The company moved its headquarters to the 25-story building in the Ginza area in Chūō from Minato, Tokyo in 2006. In the building the headquarters occupies the same space as its sales offices.<ref>"Topics - Annual Report 2006 Template:Webarchive". Ricoh. Retrieved on January 13, 2009.</ref><ref>"Outline of Ricoh". Ricoh. May 16, 1997. Retrieved on January 13, 2009.</ref><ref>"Company Data Template:Webarchive". Ricoh. Retrieved on January 13, 2009.</ref> Sumitomo Corporation is headquartered in the Harumi Island Triton Square Office Tower Y in Chūō.<ref>"Corporate Profile". Sumitomo Corporation. Retrieved on January 26, 2009.</ref> Daiichi Sankyo, a global pharmaceutical company is also headquartered in the ward, in the Daiichi Sankyo Building.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Oji Paper Holdings and Hokuetsu Corporation, two pulp and paper manufacturing companies have their headquarters in Ginza and Nihonbashihongoku, respectively.<ref>"Corporate Data ". Oji Holdings Corporation. Retrieved on March 21, 2014.</ref><ref>"Corporate Data". Hokuetsu Corporation. Retrieved on December 18, 2018.</ref> J. Front Retailing has its headquarters in Yaesu.<ref>"Corporate Data Template:Webarchive". J. Front Retailing. Retrieved on December 15, 2010. "Office : 1-1, Yaesu 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo "</ref> Asahi Shimbun, Mitsui E&S, and Nihon Ad Systems have their headquarters in Tsukiji.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>"Company Profile." Mitsui E&S. Retrieved on May 28, 2018.</ref> Ajinomoto,<ref>"Toward the realization of "Ajinomoto Group Zero Emissions" Chuo Ace Logistics Corporation achieves "Green Management Certification" Chuo Ace Logistics Corporation promotes environmentally friendly logistics Template:Webarchive". Ajinomoto. Retrieved on February 12, 2010.</ref> Mitsui Fudosan,<ref>"Corporate Data". Mitsui Fudosan. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.</ref> Shinsei Bank, Nomura Group and Meidi-Ya are also headquartered in the ward.<ref>"Nomura Group". Nomura Group. Retrieved on May 30, 2010.</ref><ref>"Company Profile." Meidi-Ya. Retrieved on May 13, 2013. "Head Office 2-2-8 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku Tokyo 104-8302"</ref> Shimizu Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Construction, two construction companies are headquartered in the ward, the former in Kyōbashi and the latter in Tsukuda district.<ref>"Corporate Profile." Shimizu Corporation. Retrieved on April 13, 2014.</ref><ref>"Corporate Profile." Sumitomo Mitsui Construction. Retrieved on September 12, 2017.</ref> Orion Breweries and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company have their Tokyo-area offices in Chūō.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>"FAQ". Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. Retrieved on February 2, 2011. "Q : Where is Takeda located? A : [...] and the Tokyo Head Office is located in Tokyo, Japan".</ref><ref>"Overview". Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. Retrieved on February 2, 2011. "Tokyo Head Office 12-10, Nihonbashi 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8668"</ref> Toray Industries, Denka and Kureha Corporation, three global chemical companies; Astellas Pharma, a global pharmaceutical company; KOSÉ, a personal care and cosmetics company; Nisshinbo Holdings, a diversified manufacturing company; and Akebono Brake Industry, an automobile component manufacturer have their headquarters in the Nihonbashi area of the ward.<ref>"Head Office". Toray Industries. Retrieved on August 2, 2014.</ref><ref>"Company Overview". Denka. Retrieved on July 29, 2014.</ref><ref>"Corporate Profile Template:Webarchive". Astellas Pharma. Retrieved on September 10, 2014.</ref><ref>"Corporate Profile". KOSÉ. Retrieved on February 12, 2017.</ref><ref>"Corporate Profile". Nisshinbo Holdings. Retrieved on February 13, 2017.</ref><ref>"Corporate Profile". Akebono Brake Industry. Retrieved on February 15, 2017.</ref><ref>"Corporate Profile." Kureha Corporation. Retrieved on November 21, 2018.</ref> Sumitomo Chemical is also headquartered in the ward, in the Kyōbashi area.<ref>"Corporate Profile". Sumitomo Chemical. Retrieved on February 5, 2015.</ref> MODEC, a global supplier and operator of offshore floating platforms, T. Hasegawa, a flavors and fragrances company, and Nissan Chemical Corporation, have their corporate headquarters in the Nihonbashi district.<ref>"Corporate Profile." MODEC. Retrieved on February 25, 2019.</ref><ref>"Outline Template:Webarchive." T. Hasegawa. Retrieved on April 24, 2019.</ref><ref>"Corporate Profile." Nissan Chemical Corporation. Retrieved on May 8, 2019.</ref>

Foreign operations

IBM has its Japan headquarters in Chūō.<ref>"IBM Japan". IBM. Retrieved on October 21, 2009.</ref>

Former economic operations

Dai-ichi Kikaku Senden Co., Ltd. opened in Chūō in Ginza, Chūō in December 1951. In January 1958 the company relocated to a new headquarters in Ginza. The company moved to another headquarters in Ginza in September 1961 and its name changed to Dai-ichi Kikaku Co. Ltd. In November 1974, after growth, the company moved to another headquarters in Ginza. In November 1981 Dai-ichi Kikaku moved its head office to a facility in Ginza and a facility in Uchisaiwaichō, Chiyoda. The headquarters of Asatsu moved to Ginza in July 1995. Asatsu and Dai-ichi Kikaku merged into Asatsu-DK on January 1, 1999.<ref>"Corporate Overview Template:Webarchive". Asatsu-DK. Retrieved on November 9, 2009.</ref>

In the late 1990s GeoCities Japan was headquartered in the Nihonbashi Hakozaki Building in Nihonbashi.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Tokyopop maintained its Japanese headquarters in Mid-Tower of the Tokyo Towers.<ref>"Contact Us Template:Webarchive". Tokyopop. Retrieved on July 23, 2009.</ref>

Politics and government

Chuo is run by a city assembly of 30 elected members. The current mayor is Yoshihide Yada, an independent backed Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito.

Elections

Transportation

Template:Details

Rail

At Tokyo Station, six Shinkansen, seven ordinary railway, and one subway line serve Chūō. In addition, three Toei subway lines stop at various stations throughout the ward.

Highway

Shuto Expressway

Education

Colleges and universities

Primary and secondary education

Public elementary and junior high schools in Chūō are operated by the Chūō City Board of Education (中央区教育委員会). Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education.

There is one prefectural high school in Chuo Ward, Template:Ill.

Public junior high schools include:<ref name=Chuoschoolzones>Template:Cite web</ref>

Public elementary schools include:<ref name=Chuoschoolzones/>

See also

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References

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Template:Chūō, Tokyo Template:Tokyo

Template:Metropolitan cities of Japan

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