Tokyo

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Tokyo by night

Tokyo (東京, “eastern capital”) is the capital of and the biggest city in Japan. This port city is located in the middle of Honshu Island's east coast (Honshu is the largest of the four main islands of the Japanese archipelago).

Tokyo, often thought of as a single city, is the heart of the world's most heavily populated region. However, Tokyo is really a metropolitan region, a network of many cities and communities, sprawling outwards across the Kanto region of Honshu island. The population was 12,659,000 in 2006,[1] with millions more within the Greater Tokyo Area.[2][3]

Literally meaning 'East Capital', Tokyo has been Japan's de facto capital only since 1868, at a time when the country was ending hundreds of years of self-imposed isolation. Its original name was Edo (江戸), meaning 'estuary'; the city grew in power and prestige over the centuries, eventually becoming the capital on the move of the Emperer Meiji (明治天皇 Meiji-tennoo) from Kyoto.


The Tokyo Area, including Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama, is the most populous metropolitan area in the world with a population of over 35 million people. Tokyo is also the most expensive city in the world.

The United States Army Japan is stationed at Camp Zama, 25 miles southwest of Tokyo.

Tokyo.jpg

See also

External links

  • Japan Statistical Yearbook: 'Population by Prefecture 1920-2006'. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. .xls document.
  • United Nations: 'World Urbanization Prospects: The 2007 Revision Population Database'. Select 'Japan' in the right hand column and click 'Display'.
  • The 'Greater Tokyo Area' has several definitions and therefore names in Japanese. A common designation is 'One Metropolis, Three Prefectures' (一都三県 Itto Sanken) - i.e. Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama.