Shinagawa, Tokyo

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Shinagawa
品川
—  Special ward  —
品川区 · Shinagawa City
Skyscrapers in Shinagawa

Flag
Location of Shinagawa in Tokyo
Shinagawa is located in Japan
Shinagawa
 
Coordinates: 35°36′N 139°44′E / 35.6°N 139.733°E / 35.6; 139.733Coordinates: 35°36′N 139°44′E / 35.6°N 139.733°E / 35.6; 139.733
Country Japan
Region Kantō
Prefecture Tokyo
Area
 - Total 22.77 km2 (8.8 sq mi)
Population (2008)
 - Total 344,461
 - Density 15,740/km2 (40,766.4/sq mi)
Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
Website Shinagawa (Japanese)

Shinagawa (品川区 Shinagawa-ku?) is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it is called Shinagawa City. The ward is home to nine embassies.

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

Contents

[edit] Geography

Shinagawa house boats with high rise apartments in the background

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:

[edit] 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 Nihombashi 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, and the nearby Shinagawa Intercity office complex will be served by a new subway station in a few years' time.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Economy

[edit] Corporate headquarters

Japan Airlines headquarters in Tennōzu Isle, Shinagawa

Many companies are headquartered in Shinagawa. Isuzu, an auto manufacturer;[1] JTB Corporation, a major travel agency;[2] MOS Burger (in the ThinkPark Tower, Ōsaki);[3] Namco Bandai Holdings;[4] Namco Bandai Games;[5] Banpresto;[6] Rakuten,[7][8] Honda brand Acura;[citation needed] NSK Ltd., a bearing maker;[9] Imagica, a media post-production company;  and Pola Cosmetics all have their headquarters within Shinagawa Ward.[citation needed]

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.[10][11][12][13][14][15] Prior to its dissolution, JAL subsidiary Japan Asia Airways was also headquartered in the JAL Building.[16]

At one time Air Nippon had its headquarters in Shinagawa.[17]

[edit] 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.[18] Sony used to have its headquarters in Shinagawa.[19] Sony moved to Minato, Tokyo around the end of 2006 and closed the Osaki West Technology Center in Shinagawa around 2007.[20][21] Adobe Systems maintains its Japan headquarters on the 19th Floor of Gate City Ohsaki near Ōsaki Station,[22] while Siemens AG has its Japan offices in Takanawa Park Tower.[23] Phoenix Technologies operates its Japan office on the 8th floor of the Gotanda NN Building in Gotanda.[24] Siemens Japan and Philips also have offices in Shinagawa.[citation needed]

[edit] Places

[edit] Education

[edit] Universities

[edit] Special colleges

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

[edit] 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:

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Important train stations

Exterior of Shinagawa Station in Minato

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

[edit] Rail

[edit] Road

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."

[edit] 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.[25]

[edit] Sister cities

Shinagawa has sister-city relationships with Auckland in New Zealand, Geneva in Switzerland, and Portland, Maine in the United States.[26]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Corporate Profile." Isuzu. Retrieved on December 8, 2008.
  2. ^ "Company Profile." JTB Corporation. Retrieved on September 16, 2009.
  3. ^ "Corporate Profile." MOS Burger. Retrieved on January 6, 2011. "Address of Headquarters 4F ThinkPark Tower, 2-1-1 Osaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-6004 JAPAN" - Address in Japanese: "〒141-6004 東京都品川区大崎2-1-1 ThinkPark Tower 4階 "
  4. ^ "Corporate Data." Namco Bandai Holdings. Retrieved on December 8, 2008. "Head Office NamcoBandai Miraikenkyusho 4-5-15, Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-8590, Japan"
  5. ^ "Corporate Overview." Namco Bandai Games. Retrieved on March 16, 2010.
  6. ^ "Company Outline." Banpresto. February 18, 2008. Retrieved on March 16, 2010.
  7. ^ "Company Overview." Rakuten. Retrieved on February 3, 2011. "”Rakuten Tower” (Headquarters) Shinagawa Seaside Rakuten Tower, 4-12-3 Higashishinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 140-0002 (MAP)."
  8. ^ "Rakuten Tower." (Direct map image link) Rakuten. Retrieved on February 3, 2011.
  9. ^ "Corporate Data." NSK Ltd.. Retrieved on December 12, 2009.
  10. ^ "Information & Reservations." Japan Airlines. Retrieved on December 8, 2008.
  11. ^ "Company Profile." Japan Airlines. Retrieved on December 8, 2008.
  12. ^ "Company Profile." JALways. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.
  13. ^ "会社案内." JAL Express. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.
  14. ^ "Company Profile." Japan Airlines. Retrieved on December 8, 2008.
  15. ^ "会社概要." JAL Hotels. Retrieved on February 5, 2010. "本社 : 〒140-0002 東京都品川区東品川2-4-11 JALビル13F."
  16. ^ "会社概要." Japan Asia Airways. October 25, 2005. Retrieved on May 20, 2009.
  17. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. April 1–7, 1998. "All Nippon Airways" 45.
  18. ^ "Access & Map." Sony. Retrieved on January 19, 2009.
  19. ^ "Corporate Data." Sony. September 9, 2008. Retrieved on January 19, 2009.
  20. ^ Suzuki, Kyoko. "Sony Considers Sale of Properties Including Former Headquarters." Bloomberg. August 3, 2006. Retrieved on January 19, 2009.
  21. ^ "Sony to close symbol of TV business.." Kyodo News International. February 1, 2007. Retrieved on January 19, 2009.
  22. ^ "Locations." Adobe Systems. Retrieved on December 8, 2008.
  23. ^ "About us > Locations." Siemens K.K.. Retrieved on December 8, 2008.
  24. ^ "Worldwide Corporate Offices." Phoenix Technologies. Retrieved on May 6, 2009.
  25. ^ The Aum Supreme Truth Terrorist Organization - The Crime library
  26. ^ 国際交流事業の紹介 | 品川区 ("Introduction to International Relations | Shinagawa") Retrieved on March 10, 2009
  27. ^ "Sister Cities". Consulate-General of Japan in Auckland. Embassy of Japan. Archived from the original on 2008-12-08. http://www.webcitation.org/5cvev6xKH. Retrieved 2008-12-09. 

[edit] External links

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