| Chiyoda 千代田 |
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| — Special ward — | |||
| 千代田区 · Chiyoda City | |||
| The National Diet Building, Chiyoda, Tokyo | |||
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| Location of Chiyoda in Tokyo | |||
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Chiyoda
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Japan | ||
| Region | Kantō | ||
| Prefecture | Tokyo | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 11.64 km2 (4.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2007) | |||
| • Total | 45,543 | ||
| • Density | 3,912/km2 (10,132/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) | ||
| Website | Chiyoda | ||
Chiyoda (千代田区 Chiyoda-ku) is one of the 23 special wards in central Tokyo, Japan. In English, it is called Chiyoda ward.[1] As of October 2007, the ward has an estimated population of 45,543 and a population density of 3,912 people per km², making it by far the least populated of the special wards. The total area is 11.64 km², of which the Imperial Palace takes up 12%.
Chiyoda consists of the Palace and a surrounding radius of about 1 kilometer. It inherited the name, literally meaning "field of a thousand generations," from Chiyoda Castle (the other name of Edo Castle). Many government institutions, such as the Diet, Prime Minister's residence, and Supreme Court, are located in Chiyoda, as are Tokyo landmarks such as Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo Station, and the Budokan. Fifteen embassies are located in Chiyoda.
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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.
Chiyoda is located at the very heart of central 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.
Chiyoda is run by a city assembly of 25 elected members. The current mayor is Masami Ishikawa, an independent.
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.[2]
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 Democrat Banri Kaieda.
The Tokyo Fire Department has its headquarters in Ōtemachi in Chiyoda.[3]
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.
On December 31, 2001 Chiyoda had 6,572 buildings which were four stories or taller.[1]
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, Marunouchi...), and/or because they are extremely small. The area on the Eastern side of the Akihabara station is the location of several districts that cover at most a few buildings. Kanda-Hanaokachō is for example more or less limited to the building of Yodobashi Camera. Tackling the addressing system in the Kanda area can be particularly cumbersome for non-locals. However, the addressing system is currently being modernized.
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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)
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On October 1, 2001 Chiyoda had 36,233 business establishments with 888,149 employees.[1]
Bungeishunjū,[8] Calbee,[9] Creatures Inc.,[10] Datam Polystar,[11] HAL Laboratory,[12] Hakusensha,[13] Jaleco,[14] Japan Freight Railway Company,[15] Japan Post Holdings,[16] KDDI,[17] Konica Minolta,[18] Mitsubishi Estate,[19] MCDecaux,[20] Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group,[21] Mizuho Financial Group,[22] New Otani,[23] NTT docomo,[24] Stack Ltd. (0verflow),[25] Seven & i Holdings,[26] Shinsei Bank,[27] Shogakukan,[28] Shueisha,[29] Toho,[30] Tokio Marine Nichido,[31] Yamazaki Baking Company (incl. Vie de France),[32][33] and Yomiuri Shimbun are headquartered in Chiyoda.[34] Mazda has an office in Chiyoda.[35]
Foreign companies with Japanese divisions in Chiyoda include Aeroméxico,[36] AMI Japan (subsidiary of American Megatrends),[37] Chloé Japan,[38] Hewlett-Packard Japan,[39] LVMH,[40] Ropes & Gray,[41] Sidley Austin,[42] Sunoco,[43] and Swiss International Airlines.[44]
Japanese companies which formerly had their headquarters in Chiyoda include All Nippon Airways,[45] Bandai Visual,[46] Galaxy Airlines,[47] Japan Airlines,[48] Japan Asia Airways,[48] Mitsui Chemicals,[49] Nippon Cargo Airlines,[50] Taito Corporation,[51] and Yamato Life.[52] In 1998 Fujitsu operated a branch office in Chiyoda.[53] Prior to its disestablishment, At one point Cantor Fitzgerald had an office in Chiyoda.[54]
Home to the massive Tokyo station with a multitude of subways, railways and long-distance services.
On May 1, 2003 Chiyoda had eight elementary schools with 2,647 students and five junior high schools with 1,123 students.[1] 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.
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.
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.[55]
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 Kōen, 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.[56]
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