Chiyoda, Tokyo

History

The Chiyoda ward was created on March 15, 1947 by the unification of Kanda Ward (the northeast corner of present-day Chiyoda, west of Akihabara) and Kōjimachi Ward (comprising the rest of Chiyoda). It has been a site of a number of historical events.

Geography

Chiyoda is located at the very heart of former Tokyo City in eastern mainland Tokyo. The central area of the ward is furthermore occupied by the Imperial Palace. The east side of the ward, bordering Chūō, is the location of Tokyo Station. The south side, bordering Minato, encompasses Hibiya Park and the National Diet Building. It is almost exclusively occupied by administrations and agencies. The west and northwest are primarily upper class residential; the Yasukuni Shrine is also there. To the north and northeast are several residential neighborhoods and the Akihabara commercial district.

Local government

Chiyoda is run by a directly elected mayor and a city assembly of 25 elected members. The current mayor is Masami Ishikawa, an independent.

Metropolitan representation

For the Metropolitan Assembly, Chiyoda forms a single-member electoral district. It had been represented by Liberal Democrats for 50 years until the landslide 2009 election when then 26-year-old Democratic newcomer Zenkō Kurishita unseated 70-year-old former Metropolitan Assembly president and six term assemblyman, Liberal Democrat Shigeru Uchida. In the 2013 election, no Democrat contested the seat and Uchida won back the district against a Communist and two independents.

The Tokyo Fire Department has its headquarters in Ōtemachi in Chiyoda.

National representation

For the national House of Representatives, Chiyoda, together with Minato and Shinjuku, forms the prefecture's 1st electoral district since the electoral reform of the 1990s. The district is currently represented by Liberal Democrat Miki Yamada.

The ward is also home to the Diet of Japan, the Supreme Court of Japan and the residence of the Prime Minister of Japan and is the political nerve center of Japan.

International representation

Cityscape

On December 31, 2001, Chiyoda had 6,572 buildings which were four stories or taller.

Some of the districts in Chiyoda are actually not inhabited, either because they are parks (Hibiya Koen), because they consist only of office buildings (Otemachi or Marunouchi), and/or because they are extremely small. The area on the eastern side of Akihabara Station is the location of several districts that cover at most a few buildings. Kanda-Hanaokachō is, for example, limited to the Yodobashi Camera department store. Understanding the address system in the Kanda area can be particularly troublesome for non-locals.

Kōjimachi Area

Kanda Area

The list below consists of the many smaller neighborhoods of the Kanda area, for which a modernization of the addressing system has not been enforced yet. All officially start with the prefix "Kanda-", but it is sometimes omitted in daily life. Note that Iwamotochō and Kanda-Iwamotochō are different districts (as is the case for Kajichō and Kanda-Kajichō)

Economy

On October 1, 2001, Chiyoda had 36,233 business establishments with 888,149 employees.

0verflow, Asahi Glass, Bungeishunjū, Calbee, Creatures Inc., Datam Polystar, DIC Corporation, Dowa Holdings, Furukawa Electric, HAL Laboratory, Hakusensha, Jaleco, The Japan FM Network Company, Japan Freight Railway Company, Japan Post Holdings, Kadokawa Corporation, KDDI, Konica Minolta, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Lixil Group Corporation, Mitsubishi Estate, MCDecaux, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group, New Otani, Nikken Sekkei, Nippon Cable, Nippon Paper Industries, Nippon Soda, Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Nitto Boseki, NTT docomo, Orient Watch Company, Seibu Kaihatsu, Seven & i Holdings, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Shogakukan, Shueisha, SMC Corporation, Sony Music Entertainment Japan, Toho, Tokio Marine Nichido, Tokuyama Corporation, Tokyo FM, Toppan Printing, Yamazaki Baking Company, Vie de France, YKK Group, and Yomiuri Shimbun are headquartered in Chiyoda. Mazda has an office in Chiyoda.

Foreign operations

Foreign companies with Japanese divisions in Chiyoda include Aeroméxico, AMI Japan (subsidiary of American Megatrends), Chloé Japan, Hewlett-Packard Japan, LVMH, Ropes & Gray, Sidley Austin, Sunoco, and Swiss International Air Lines.

Former operations

Japanese companies which formerly had their headquarters in Chiyoda include All Nippon Airways, Bandai Visual, Galaxy Airlines, Japan Airlines, Japan Asia Airways, Mitsui Chemicals, Nippon Cargo Airlines, Taito Corporation, and Yamato Life. In 1998 Fujitsu operated a branch office in Chiyoda. Prior to its disestablishment, At one point Cantor Fitzgerald had an office in Chiyoda.

Attractions

Transportation

Home to the massive Tokyo station with a multitude of subways, railways and long-distance services.

Primary and secondary schools

As of May 1, 2003, Chiyoda has eight elementary schools, with 2,647 students, and five junior high schools with 1,123 students. Public elementary and junior high schools in Chiyoda are operated by the Chiyoda Board of Education. Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education.

The Tokyo Chinese School is located in Gobanchō in the ward. Previously the Lycée Franco-Japonais de Tokyo was in Fujimi in this ward.

Colleges and universities

Hitotsubashi University's Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy is located in the National Center of Sciences in Hitotsubashi.

Both of the Sophia University Campuses are in western Chiyoda. The main Yotsuya campus lies adjacent to Yotsuya Station and the Ichigaya Campus just south of Ichigaya Station. Globis University Graduate School of Management which is the largest business school in Japan is also located in Chiyoda.

Libraries

Chiyoda operates four public libraries; they are the Chiyoda Library, Yobancho Library, Shohei Library, and Kanda Library. Tokyo operates the Tokyo Metropolitan Library Hibiya Library. The Japanese government operates the National Diet Library and the National Archives. Ishikawa Enterprise Foundation Ochanomizu Library is a nearby private library.

Parks and recreation

East Imperial Garden, located on the eastern portion of the Tokyo Imperial Palace grounds and housing the castle tower and the outer defense positions of the former Edo Castle, opened to the public in 1968. Kitanomaru Park, located on Edo Castle's former northern section, has the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art and the Nippon Budokan, a venue for performances. Chidorigafuchi Boat Arena and Chidorigafuchi Moat Path includes a waterway for boats. National Diet Building Park, located adjacent to the Diet Building and divided in two by a street, includes American dogwoods planted to symbolize the relations between the United States and Japan. Hibiya Park, Japan's first western-style park, includes restaurants, open-air concert halls, and tennis courts. Imperial Palace Outer Garden, in the front of Nijubashi Bridge, serves as a jogging trail and a tourist site.