Shinagawa

Shinagawa (å"å·åŒº, Shinagawa-ku) is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. While somewhat misleadingly referred to as Shinagawa City in bureaucratic English translations (it is not a city in its own right, but a subsection of the metropolis of Tokyo), in natural English it is more commonly known simply as Shinagawa, as Shinagawa Ward or (particularly in street addresses) as Shinagawa-ku. The ward is home to nine embassies.

As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 344,461 and a population density of 15,740 persons per km². The total area is 22.72 km².

Geography

Shinagawa includes natural uplands and lowlands, as well as reclaimed land. The uplands are the eastern end of the Musashino hills. They include Shiba Shiroganedai north of the Meguro River, Megurodai between the Meguro and Tachiai Rivers, and Ebaradai south of the Tachiai River.

The ward lies on Tokyo Bay. Its neighbors on land are all special wards of Tokyo: Kōtō to the east, Minato to the north, Meguro to the west, and Ōta to the south.

The ward consists of five districts:

• the Shinagawa district, including the former Shinagawa post on the Tōkaidō
• the ÅŒsaki district, formerly a town, stretching from ÅŒsaki Station to Gotanda and Meguro Stations
• the Ebara district, formerly a town of that name
• the ÅŒi district, previously a town
• the Yashio district, consisting of reclaimed land

History

Most of Tokyo east of the Imperial Palace is reclaimed land. A large portion of reclamation happened during the Edo period. Following the Meiji restoration and the Abolition of the han system, Shinagawa prefecture was instituted in 1869. The prefectural administration was planned to be set up in present-day Shinagawa in the Ebara district. In 1871, Shinagawa prefecture was integrated into Tokyo Prefecture.

The ward was founded on March 15, 1947 through the administrative amalgamation of the former Ebara Ward with the former Shinagawa Ward. Both Ebara Ward and Shinagawa Ward had been created in 1932, with the outward expansion of the municipal boundaries of the Tokyo City following the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake.

In the Edo period, Shinagawa was the first post town a traveler would reach after setting out from Nihonbashi on the Tōkaidō highway from Edo to Kyoto. The post-town function is retained today with several large hotels near the train station offering 6,000 hotel rooms, the largest concentration in the city. The Tokugawa shogunate maintained the Suzugamori execution grounds in Shinagawa.

The Tōkaidō Shinkansen began serving Shinagawa Station from 2003.

Politics and government

Shinagawa is run by a city assembly of 40 elected members. The mayor as of 2007 is Takeshi Hamano, an independent. Liberal Democratic Party together with New Komeito currently forms government.

• Shinagawa local election, 2007
• Shinagawa mayoral election, 2006

The Embassy of Myanmar in Japan is located in Kita Shinagawa.

Economy

Corporate headquarters

Many companies are headquartered in Shinagawa. Isuzu, an auto manufacturer; JTB Corporation, a major travel agency; Nippon Light Metal, an aluminum and chemical products company; MOS Burger (in the ThinkPark Tower, ÅŒsaki); Lawson (East Tower of Gate City Ohsaki in ÅŒsaki), Namco Bandai Holdings; Namco Bandai Games; Banpresto; Rakuten, Honda brand Acura; Toyo Seikan, a packaging manufacturer; NSK Ltd., a bearing maker; Fuji Electric, an electrical equipment manufacturer; Imagica, a media post-production company; and Pola Cosmetics all have their headquarters within Shinagawa Ward. Marza Animation Planet also has its headquarters in Shinagawa.

Japan Airlines (JAL), the head office of its subsidiary JAL Hotels, and registered offices of JAL Express and JALways are located in the Tennōzu Isle area. In addition, Jalux, a subsidiary, has its head office in the I·S Building. One group of employees moved into the building on July 26, 2010, and one on August 2, 2010.

Other offices

Other companies maintain branch offices or research facilities in Shinagawa. Sony operates the Gotenyama Technology Center and the Osaki East Technology Center in Shinagawa. Sony used to have its headquarters in Shinagawa. Sony moved to Minato, Tokyo around the end of 2006 and closed the Osaki West Technology Center in Shinagawa around 2007. Adobe Systems maintains its Japan headquarters on the 19th Floor of Gate City Ohsaki near ÅŒsaki Station, while Siemens AG has its Japan offices in Takanawa Park Tower. Phoenix Technologies operates its Japan office on the 8th floor of the Gotanda NN Building in Gotanda. Siemens Japan and Philips also have offices in Shinagawa.

Microsoft and ExxonMobil have their Japanese headquarters in the in Konan, Minato, near Shinagawa.

Former economic operations

Prior to its dissolution, JAL subsidiary Japan Asia Airways was also headquartered in the JAL Building. GEOS, an English language school company, once had its headquarters in Shinagawa. At one time Air Nippon had its headquarters in Shinagawa.

Places

• The Institute for Research in Human Happiness
• National Institute of Japanese Literature
• Suzugamori Execution Grounds (Edo period)
• TV Tokyo Tennozu Studios

Education

Universities

• Hoshi University
• Rissho University
• Seisen University
• Showa University
• Sugino Women's University

Special colleges

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education operates two special colleges in Shinagawa:

• Tokyo Metropolitan College of Technology [1]
• Tokyo Metropolitan College of Industrial Technology [2]

Primary and secondary

Public elementary and junior high schools are operated by the Shinagawa Ward Board of Education. Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education.

Public high schools in Shinagawa include:

• Koyamadai High School [3]
• Osaki High School [4]
• Yashio High School [5]

International schools include:

• Canadian International School in Tokyo

Transport

Important railway stations

Shinagawa Station in neighboring Minato also serves Shinagawa, and is a stop on the high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen line.

• Gotanda Station
• Meguro Station
• ÅŒsaki Station
• ÅŒimachi Station

Rail

• East Japan Railway Company (JR East)
  • Yamanote Line: ÅŒsaki, Gotanda, Meguro Stations
  • Keihin-Tōhoku Line: ÅŒimachi Station
  • Saikyō Line: ÅŒsaki Station
  • Tōkaidō Main Line: does not stop in Shinagawa
  • Yokosuka Line: Nishi-ÅŒi Station
  • Shōnan-Shinjuku Line: ÅŒsaki, Nishi-ÅŒi Stations
• Tokyu Corporation (TōkyÅ«)
  • TōkyÅ« Meguro Line: Meguro, Fudo-mae, Musashi-Koyama, Nishi-Koyama Stations
  • TōkyÅ« ÅŒimachi Line: Shimo-Shinmei, Togoshi Koen, Nakanobe, Ebaramachi, Hatanodai Stations
  • TōkyÅ« Ikegami Line: Gotanda, ÅŒsaki-Hirokoji, Togoshi Ginza, Ebara Nakanobu, Hatanodai Stations
• Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit: Tennōzu Isle, Shinagawa Seaside, ÅŒimachi, ÅŒsaki Stations
• Tokyo Monorail: Tennōzu Isle, ÅŒi Keibajō-mae Stations
• Keihin Electric Express Railway (KeikyÅ«)
  • Main Line: Kita-Shinagawa, Shin-Bamba, Aomono Yokocho, Samezu, Tachiaikawa, ÅŒmori-Kaigan Stations
• Tokyo Metro
  • Namboku Line: Meguro Station
• Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation
  • Mita Line: Meguro Station
  • Asakusa Line: Gotanda, Togoshi, Nakanobu Stations

Road

• Shuto Expressway
  • No. 1 Haneda Route (Edobashi JCT - Iriya)
  • No.2 Meguro Route (Ichinohashi JCT - Togoshi)
  • Bayshore Route (Kawasaki-Ukishima JCT - Koya)
• National highways of Japan
  • Route 1
  • Route 15
  • Route 357

Shinagawa is also home to the main motor vehicle registration facility for central Tokyo (located east of Samezu Station). As a result, many license plates in Tokyo are labeled with the name "Shinagawa."

Events

The abduction of Kiyoshi Kariya by the Aum Shinrikyo cult occurred in Shinagawa. On February 28, 1995, cult members abducted Kariya, a public employee, and took him to their facility in Kamikuishiki, Yamanashi. Cult members, including Ikuo Hayashi, injected Kariya with sodium thiopental in order to discover the location of the man's sister (a former Aum member), but Kariya unexpectedly died.

Sister cities

Shinagawa has sister-city relationships with Auckland in New Zealand, Geneva in Switzerland, and Portland, Maine in the United States.

• Geneva, Switzerland
• Auckland, New Zealand
• Harbin, People's Republic of China
• Hayakawa, Japan
• Portland, Maine

References

External links

• Shinagawa City official website (Japanese)
• Shinagawa City official website (English)