thumb|Tokyo Metropolitan Television old headquarters (1995-2006): Telecom Center Building is the only commercial television station in Tokyo, Japan that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon Television, TV Asahi, Tokyo Broadcasting System, TV Tokyo, and Fuji Television, all of which are flagship stations of national networks. Tokyo MX was founded on April 30, 1993, and broadcasts commenced on November 1, 1995. Shareholders include the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Sony.

Every week, Tokyo MX airs the press conferences of Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara. Tokyo MX is the broadcast home to soccer side F.C. Tokyo and baseball's Hanshin Tigers. Notably, Tokyo MX aired the second season of The Big O.

It is a member of the Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations (JAITS).

Channels

Analog: Channel 14

Digital: Channel 20 (Remote Controller ID 9)

See also

UHF anime

External links

Official website

English information

Category:Independent television stations in Japan Category:Television stations in Japan Category:Media in Tokyo

es:Tokyo Metropolitan Television fr:Tokyo Metropolitan Television Broadcasting Corporation ko:도쿄 메트로폴리탄 텔레비전 id:Tokyo Metropolitan Television it:Tokyo Metropolitan Television ms:Tokyo MX ja:東京メトロポリタンテレビジョン tl:Tokyo Metropolitan Television zh:東京都會電視台

Name	Tokyo
Native name	東京
Official name	東京都 · Tokyo Metropolis
Settlement type	Metropolis
Map caption	Location of Tokyo within Japan
Image map1	Tokyo Landsat.jpg
Map caption1	Satellite photo of Tokyo's 23 Special wards taken by NASA's Landsat 7
Blank emblem type	Symbol
Image seal	Emblem of Tokyo.svg
Seal size	100px
Seal link	Insignias of Tokyo
Pushpin map	Japan
Pushpin label position
Coordinates display	inline, title
Coordinates region	JP-13
Coordinates type	type:adm1st_region:JP-13
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	Japan
Subdivision type1	Region
Subdivision name1	Kantō
Subdivision type2	Island
Subdivision name2	Honshu
Parts type	Divisions
Parts	23 special wards, 26 cities, 1 district, & 4 subprefectures
Government type	Metropolis
Leader title	Governor
Leader name	Shintarō Ishihara
Leader title1	Capital
Leader name1	Shinjuku
Area footnotes	(ranked 45th)
Area total km2	2187.08
Area water percent	1.0
Population demonym	Tokyoite
Population as of	1st
Population total	13,010,279 (April 1, 2010)
Population note	(April 1, 2010)
Population density km2	5847
Population metro	35,676,000
Population blank1 title	23 Wards
Population note	(2009 per Prefectural Government)
Population blank1	8,802,000
Timezone	Japan Standard Time
Utc offset	+9
Postal code type	ISO 3166-2
Postal code	JP-13
Blank name sec2	Flower
Blank info sec2	Somei-Yoshino cherry blossom
Blank1 name sec2	Tree
Blank1 info sec2	Ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba)
Blank2 name sec2	Bird
Blank2 info sec2	Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)
Website	metro.tokyo.jp
Footnotes	}}

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. It is located in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former and the . Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family.

The Tokyo Metropolitan government administers the twenty-three special wards of Tokyo (each governed as a city), which cover the area that was the city of Tokyo, as well as 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the special wards is over 8 million people, with the total population of the prefecture exceeding 13 million. The prefecture is part of the world's most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 35 million people and the world's largest metropolitan economy with a GDP of US$1.479 trillion at purchasing power parity in 2008, ahead of New York City, which ranks second on the list. The city hosts 47 of the Fortune Global 500 companies.

Tokyo has been described as one of the three "command centers" for the world economy, along with New York City and London. This city is considered an alpha+ world city, listed by the GaWC's 2008 inventory and ranked third among global cities by Foreign Policy's 2010 Global Cities Index. In 2010 Tokyo was named the second most expensive city for expatriate employees, according to the Mercer and Economist Intelligence Unit cost-of-living surveys, and named the fourth Most Liveable City and the World’s Most Livable Megalopolis by the magazine Monocle. The Michelin Guide has awarded Tokyo by far the most Michelin stars of any city in the world. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics and is currently bidding to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Etymology

Tokyo was originally known as Edo, meaning "estuary". Its name was changed to Tokyo (Tōkyō: tō (east) + kyō (capital)) when it became the imperial capital in 1868, in line with the East Asian tradition of including the word capital ('京') in the name of the capital city. During the early Meiji period, the city was also called "Tōkei", an alternative pronunciation for the same Chinese characters representing "Tokyo". Some surviving official English documents use the spelling "Tokei". However, this pronunciation is now obsolete.

History

Tokyo was originally a small fishing village named Edo, located in what was formerly part of the old Musashi Province.

Edo was first fortified by the Edo clan, in the late 12th century. In 1457, Ōta Dōkan built Edo Castle. In 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu made Edo his base and when he became shogun in 1603, the town became the center of his nationwide military government. During the subsequent Edo period, Edo grew into one of the largest cities in the world with a population topping one million by the 18th century.

It became the de facto capital of Japan even while the emperor lived in Kyoto, the imperial capital. After about 263 years, the shogunate was overthrown under the banner of restoring imperial rule. In 1869, the 17-year-old Emperor Meiji moved to Edo. Tokyo was already the nation's political and cultural center, and the emperor's residence made it a de facto imperial capital as well, with the former Edo Castle becoming the Imperial Palace. The city of Tokyo was established, and continued to be the capital until it was abolished as a municipality in 1943 and merged with the "Metropolitan Prefecture" of Tokyo.

Central Tokyo, like Osaka, has been designed since about 1900 to be centered on major railway stations in a high-density fashion, so suburban railways were built relatively cheaply at street level and with their own right-of-way. This differs from many cities in the United States that are low-density and automobile-centric. Though expressways have been built in Tokyo, the basic design has not changed.

Tokyo went on to suffer two major catastrophes in the 20th century, but it recovered from both. One was the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, which left 140,000 dead or missing, and the other was World War II. The Bombing of Tokyo in 1944 and 1945, with 75,000 to 200,000 killed and half of the city destroyed, was almost as devastating as the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.

After the war, Tokyo was completely rebuilt, and was showcased to the world during the 1964 Summer Olympics. The 1970s brought new high-rise developments such as Sunshine 60, a new and controversial airport at Narita in 1978 (some distance outside city limits), and a population increase to about 11 million (in the metropolitan area).

Tokyo's subway and commuter rail network became one of the busiest in the world as more and more people moved to the area. In the 1980s, real estate prices skyrocketed during a real estate and debt bubble. The bubble burst in the early 1990s, and many companies, banks, and individuals were caught with mortgage backed debts while real estate was shrinking in value. A major recession followed, making the 1990s Japan's "Lost Decade" from which it is now slowly recovering.

Tokyo still sees new urban developments on large lots of less profitable land. Recent projects include Ebisu Garden Place, Tennozu Isle, Shiodome, Roppongi Hills, Shinagawa (now also a Shinkansen station), and the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station. Buildings of significance are demolished for more up-to-date shopping facilities such as Omotesando Hills.

Land reclamation projects in Tokyo have also been going on for centuries. The most prominent is the Odaiba area, now a major shopping and entertainment center. Various plans have been proposed for transferring national government functions from Tokyo to secondary capitals in other regions of Japan, in order to slow down rapid development in Tokyo and revitalize economically lagging areas of the country. These plans have been controversial within Japan and have yet to be realized.

Geography and administrative divisions

The mainland portion of Tokyo lies northwest of Tokyo Bay and measures about 90 km east to west and 25 km north to south. Chiba Prefecture borders it to the east, Yamanashi to the west, Kanagawa to the south, and Saitama to the north. Mainland Tokyo is further subdivided into the special wards (occupying the eastern half) and the Tama area () stretching westwards.

thumb|left|Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Also within the administrative boundaries of Tokyo Metropolis are two island chains in the Pacific Ocean directly south: the Izu Islands, and the Ogasawara Islands, which stretch more than 1,000 km away from the mainland. Because of these islands and mountainous regions to the west, Tokyo's overall population density figures far underrepresent the real figures for urban and suburban regions of Tokyo.

Under Japanese law, Tokyo is designated as a to (), translated as metropolis. Its administrative structure is similar to that of Japan's other prefectures. Within Tokyo lie dozens of smaller entities, including many cities, the twenty-three special wards, districts, towns, villages, a quasi-national park, and a national park. The twenty-three special wards ( -ku), which until 1943 constituted the city of Tokyo, are now separate, self-governing municipalities, each having a mayor, a council, and the status of a city.

In addition to these 23 special wards, Tokyo also includes 26 more cities (市 -shi), five towns ( -chō or machi), and eight villages ( -son or -mura), each of which has a local government. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is headed by a publicly elected governor and metropolitan assembly. Its headquarters are in the ward of Shinjuku. They govern all of Tokyo, including lakes, rivers, dams, farms, remote islands, and national parks in addition to its neon jungles, skyscrapers and crowded subways.

Special wards

The special wards (tokubetsu-ku) of Tokyo comprise the area formerly incorporated as Tokyo City. On July 1, 1943, Tokyo City was merged with forming the current "metropolitan prefecture". As a result, unlike other city wards in Japan, these wards are not part of any larger incorporated city. Each ward is a municipality with its own elected mayor and assembly like the other cities of Japan. The special wards use the word "city" in their official English name (e.g. Chiyoda City).

The wards differ from other cities in having a unique administrative relationship with the prefectural government. Certain municipal functions, such as waterworks, sewerage, and fire-fighting, are handled by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. To pay for the added administrative costs, the prefecture collects municipal taxes, which would usually be levied by the city.

The special wards of Tokyo are: {| |- style="vertical-align:top;" |

Adachi

Arakawa

Bunkyō

Chiyoda

Chūō

Edogawa

Itabashi

Katsushika

|

Kita

Kōtō

Meguro

Minato

Nakano

Nerima

Ōta

Setagaya

|

Shibuya

Shinagawa

Shinjuku

Suginami

Sumida

Taitō

Toshima

|}

The "three core wards" of Tokyo are Chiyoda, Chūō and Minato.

Western Tokyo

To the west of the special wards, Tokyo Metropolis consists of cities, towns and villages that enjoy the same legal status as those elsewhere in Japan.

While serving as "bed towns" for those working in central Tokyo, some of these also have a local commercial and industrial base. Collectively, these are often known as the Tama Area or Western Tokyo.

Cities

Twenty-six cities lie within the western part of Tokyo: {| |- style="vertical-align:top;" |

Akiruno

Akishima

Chōfu

Fuchū

Fussa

Hachiōji

Hamura

Higashikurume

Higashimurayama

|

Higashiyamato

Hino

Inagi

Kiyose

Kodaira

Koganei

Kokubunji

Komae

Kunitachi

|

Machida

Mitaka

Musashimurayama

Musashino

Nishitōkyō

Ōme

Tachikawa

Tama

|}

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has designated Hachiōji, Tachikawa, Machida, Ōme and Tama New Town as regional centers of the Tama area, as part of its plans to disperse urban functions away from central Tokyo.

Nishitama District

The far west is occupied by the district (gun) of Nishitama. Much of this area is mountainous and unsuitable for urbanization. The highest mountain in Tokyo, Mount Kumotori, is 2,017 m high; other mountains in Tokyo include Takasu (1737 m), Odake (1266 m), and Mitake (929 m). Lake Okutama, on the Tama River near Yamanashi Prefecture, is Tokyo's largest lake. The district is composed of three towns and one village.

Towns

Hinode

Mizuho

Okutama

Village

Hinohara

Islands

Tokyo has numerous outlying islands, which extend as far as 1850 km from central Tokyo. Because of the islands' distance from the administrative headquarters of the metropolitan government in Shinjuku, local offices administer them.

The Izu Islands are a group of volcanic islands and form part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. The islands in order from closest to Tokyo are Izu Ōshima, Toshima, Niijima, Shikinejima, Kozushima, Miyakejima, Mikurajima, Hachijojima, and Aogashima. The Izu Islands are grouped into three subprefectures. Izu Ōshima and Hachijojima are towns. The remaining islands are six villages, with Niijima and Shikinejima forming one village.

The Ogasawara Islands include, from north to south, Chichi-jima, Nishinoshima, Haha-jima, Kita Iwo Jima, Iwo Jima, and Minami Iwo Jima. Ogasawara also administers two tiny outlying islands: Minami Torishima, the easternmost point in Japan and at 1,850 km the most distant island from central Tokyo, and Okino Torishima, the southernmost point in Japan. The last island is contested by the People's Republic of China as being only uninhabited rocks. The Iwo chain and the outlying islands have no permanent population, but host Japanese Self-Defense Forces personnel. Local populations are only found on Chichi-jima and Haha-jima. The islands form both the subprefecture of Ogasawara and the village of Ogasawara.

style="background:#ccf;"	Subprefecture	Municipality	Type
rowspan="2">Hachijō Subprefecture	Hachijō	Hachijō, Tokyo>Hachijō	Town
	Aogashima	Village
rowspan="2"	Miyake	Miyake, Tokyo>Miyake
	Mikurajima	Village
rowspan="4"	Ōshima	Ōshima, Tokyo>Ōshima
	Toshima	Village
	Niijima	Village
	Kōzushima	Village
	Ogasawara	Ogasawara, Tokyo>Ogasawara

National parks

There are several national parks within Tokyo, among them:

Meiji no Mori Takao Quasi-National Park, around Mount Takao to the south of Hachiōji

Ogasawara National Park. As of 2006, efforts were being made to make Ogasawara National Park a UNESCO natural World Heritage Site.

Ueno Park, well known for its museums: Tokyo National Museum, National Science Museum, Shitamachi Museum and National Museum for Western Art, among others. There are also art works and statues at several places in the park.

Seismicity

Tokyo was hit by powerful earthquakes in 1703, 1782, 1812, 1855, and 1923. The 1923 earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 8.3, killed 142,000 people. Tokyo is located near the boundary of three plates.

Climate

The former city of Tokyo and the majority of mainland Tokyo lie in the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with hot humid summers and generally mild winters with cool spells. The region, like much of Japan, experiences a one-month seasonal lag, with the warmest month being August, which averages , and the coolest month being January, averaging . Annual rainfall averages nearly , with a wetter summer and a drier winter. Snowfall is sporadic, but does occur almost annually. Tokyo also often sees typhoons each year, though few are strong. The last one to hit was Fitow in 2007.

Environment

Tokyo has enacted a measure to cut greenhouse gases. Governor Shintaro Ishihara created Japan's first emissions cap system, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emission by a total of 25% by 2020 from the 2000 level.

Tokyo is an example of an urban heat island, and the phenomenon is especially serious in its special wards. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the annual mean temperature has increased by about over the past 100 years. Tokyo has been cited as a "convincing example of the relationship between urban growth and climate."

Demographics

|} As of October 2007, the official intercensal estimate showed 12.79 million people in Tokyo with 8.653 million living within Tokyo's 23 wards. During the daytime, the population swells by over 2.5 million as workers and students commute from adjacent areas. This effect is even more pronounced in the three central wards of Chiyoda, Chūō, and Minato, whose collective population as of the 2005 National Census was 326,000 at night, but 2.4 million during the day.

The entire prefecture had 12,790,000 residents in October 2007 (8,653,000 in 23 wards), with an increase of over 3 million in the day. Tokyo is at its highest population ever, while that of the 23 wards peak official count was 8,893,094 in the 1965 Census, with the count dipping below 8 million in the 1995 Census. People continue to move back into the core city as land prices have fallen dramatically.

As of 2005, the most common foreign nationalities found in Tokyo are Chinese (123,661), Korean (106,697), Filipino (31,077), American (18,848), British (7,696), Brazilian (5,300) and French (3,000).

The 1889 Census recorded 1,389,600 people in Tokyo City, Japan's largest city at the time.

Economy

Tokyo has the largest metropolitan economy in the world. According to a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Tokyo urban area (35.2 million people) had a total GDP of US$1.479 trillion in 2008 (at purchasing power parity), which topped the list. As of 2009, 51 of the companies listed on the Global 500 are based in Tokyo, almost twice that of the second-placed city (Paris).

Tokyo is a major international finance center, houses the headquarters of several of the world's largest investment banks and insurance companies, and serves as a hub for Japan's transportation, publishing, and broadcasting industries. During the centralized growth of Japan's economy following World War II, many large firms moved their headquarters from cities such as Osaka (the historical commercial capital) to Tokyo, in an attempt to take advantage of better access to the government. This trend has begun to slow due to ongoing population growth in Tokyo and the high cost of living there.

Tokyo was rated by the Economist Intelligence Unit as the most expensive (highest cost-of-living) city in the world for 14 years in a row ending in 2006. This analysis is for living a corporate executive lifestyle, with items like a detached house and several automobiles.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange is Japan's largest stock exchange, and third largest in the world by market capitalization and fourth largest by share turnover. In 1990 at the end of the Japanese asset price bubble, it accounted for more than 60% of the world stock market value. Tokyo had 8,460 ha (20,900 acres) of agricultural land as of 2003, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, placing it last among the nation's prefectures. The farmland is concentrated in Western Tokyo. Perishables such as vegetables, fruits, and flowers can be conveniently shipped to the markets in the eastern part of the prefecture. Komatsuna and spinach are the most important vegetables; as of 2000, Tokyo supplied 32.5% of the komatsuna sold at its central produce market.

With 36% of its area covered by forest, Tokyo has extensive growths of cryptomeria and Japanese cypress, especially in the mountainous western communities of Akiruno, Ōme, Okutama, Hachiōji, Hinode, and Hinohara. Decreases in the price of lumber, increases in the cost of production, and advancing old age among the forestry population have resulted in a decline in Tokyo's output. In addition, pollen, especially from cryptomeria, is a major allergen for the nearby population centers.

Tokyo Bay was once a major source of fish. Presently, most of Tokyo's fish production comes from the outer islands, such as Izu Ōshima and Hachijōjima. Skipjack tuna, nori, and aji are among the ocean products.

Tourism in Tokyo is also a contributor to the economy.

Transportation

Tokyo, as the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, is Japan's largest domestic and international hub for rail, ground, and air transportation. Public transportation within Tokyo is dominated by an extensive network of clean and efficient trains and subways run by a variety of operators, with buses, monorails and trams playing a secondary feeder role.

Within Ōta, one of the 23 special wards, Haneda Airport offers domestic and international flights. Outside Tokyo, Narita International Airport, in Chiba Prefecture, is the major gateway for international travelers to Japan and Japan's flag carrier Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines all have a hub at this airport.

Various islands governed by Tokyo have their own airports. Hachijōjima (Hachijojima Airport), Miyakejima (Miyakejima Airport), and Izu Ōshima (Oshima Airport) have services to Tokyo International and other airports.

Rail is the primary mode of transportation in Tokyo, which has the most extensive urban railway network in the world and an equally extensive network of surface lines. JR East operates Tokyo's largest railway network, including the Yamanote Line loop that circles the center of downtown Tokyo. Two organizations operate the subway network: the private Tokyo Metro and the governmental Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation. The metropolitan government and private carriers operate bus routes. Local, regional, and national services are available, with major terminals at the giant railroad stations, including Tokyo, Shinagawa, and Shinjuku.

Expressways link the capital to other points in the Greater Tokyo area, the Kantō region, and the islands of Kyūshū and Shikoku.

Other transportation includes taxis operating in the special wards and the cities and towns. Also long-distance ferries serve the islands of Tokyo and carry passengers and cargo to domestic and foreign ports.

Education

Tokyo has many universities, junior colleges, and vocational schools. Many of Japan's most prestigious universities are in Tokyo, including University of Tokyo, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Keio University,and Waseda University, . Some of the biggest national universities located in Tokyo are:

Ochanomizu University

University of Electro-Communications

National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies

University of Tokyo

Tokyo Medical and Dental University

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology

Tokyo Gakugei University

Tokyo University of the Arts

Tokyo Institute of Technology

Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology

Hitotsubashi University.

There is only one non-national public university: Tokyo Metropolitan University.

There are also a few universities well known for classes conducted in English and for the teaching of the Japanese language. They include:

International Christian University

Sophia University

Waseda University

Temple University Japan

For an extensive list, see List of universities in Tokyo.

Publicly-run kindergartens, elementary schools (years 1 through 6), and junior high schools (7 through 9) are operated by local wards or municipal offices. Public high schools in Tokyo are run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education and are called "Metropolitan High Schools". Tokyo also has many private schools from kindergarten through high school.

Culture

Tokyo has many museums. In Ueno Park, there is the Tokyo National Museum, the country's largest museum and specializing in traditional Japanese art; the National Museum of Western Art; the National Museum of Science and Ueno Zoo. Other museums include the Nezu Art Museum in Aoyama; the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Sumida, across the Sumida River from the center of Tokyo; and the National Diet Library, National Archives, and the National Museum of Modern Art, which are near the Imperial Palace.

Tokyo has many theaters for performing arts. These include national and private theaters for traditional forms of Japanese drama (such as noh and kabuki) as well as modern drama. Symphony orchestras and other musical organizations perform modern and traditional music. Tokyo also hosts modern Japanese and international pop and rock music at venues ranging in size from intimate clubs to internationally-known arenas such as the Nippon Budokan.

Tokyo features many internationally famous forms of modern architecture including Tokyo International Forum, Asahi Beer Hall, Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower and Rainbow Bridge.

Many different festivals occur throughout Tokyo. Major events include the Sannō at Hie Shrine, the Sanja at Asakusa Shrine, and the biennial Kanda Festivals. The last features a parade with elaborately decorated floats and thousands of people. Annually on the last Saturday of July, an enormous fireworks display over the Sumida River attracts over a million viewers. Once cherry blossoms, or sakura, bloom in spring, many residents gather in Ueno Park, Inokashira Park, and the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden for picnics under the blossoms.

Harajuku, a neighborhood in Shibuya, is known internationally for its youth style and fashion.

Cuisine in Tokyo is internationally acclaimed. In November 2007, Michelin released their guide for fine dining in Tokyo, awarding 191 stars in total, or about twice as many as Tokyo's nearest competitor, Paris. Eight establishments were awarded the maximum of three stars (Paris has 10), 25 received two stars, and 117 earned one star. Of the eight top-rated restaurants, three offer traditional Japanese fine dining, two are sushi houses and three serve French cuisine.

Sports

Tokyo, with a diverse array of sports, is home to two professional baseball clubs, the Yomiuri Giants who play at the Tokyo Dome and Tokyo Yakult Swallows at Meiji-Jingu Stadium. The Japan Sumo Association is also headquartered in Tokyo at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan sumo arena where three official sumo tournaments are held annually (in January, May, and September). Football (soccer) clubs in Tokyo include F.C. Tokyo and Tokyo Verdy 1969, both of which play at Ajinomoto Stadium in Chōfu.

Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics. The National Stadium, also known as the Olympic Stadium is host to a number of international sporting events. With a number of world-class sports venues, Tokyo often hosts national and international sporting events such as tennis tournaments, swim meets, marathons, American football exhibition games, judo, and karate. Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, in Sendagaya, Shibuya, is a large sports complex that includes swimming pools, training rooms, and a large indoor arena. According to Around the Rings, the gymnasium will play host to the October 2011 artistic gymnastics world championships, despite the International Gymnastics Federation's initial doubt in Tokyo's ability to host the championships following the March 11 tsunami. Tokyo is currently bidding to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.

In popular culture

As the largest population center in Japan and the location of the country's largest broadcasters and studios, Tokyo is frequently the setting for many Japanese movies, television shows, animated series (anime), web comics, and comic books (manga). In the kaiju (monster movie) genre, landmarks of Tokyo are routinely destroyed by giant monsters such as Godzilla.

Some Hollywood directors have turned to Tokyo as a filming location for movies set in Tokyo. Well-known examples from the postwar era include Tokyo Joe, My Geisha, and the James Bond film You Only Live Twice; well-known contemporary examples include Kill Bill, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Lost in Translation.

Cityscape

Architecture in Tokyo has largely been shaped by Tokyo's history. Twice in recent history has the metropolis been left in ruins: first in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake and later after extensive firebombing in World War II. Because of this, Tokyo's current urban landscape is one of modern and contemporary architecture, and older buildings are scarce.

Tokyo also contains numerous parks and gardens.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Tokyo is twinned with the following cities and states:

* Beijing, People's Republic of China

* Berlin, Germany

* Cairo, Egypt

* Jakarta, Indonesia

* Moscow, Russia

* New South Wales, Australia

New York City, United States

* Paris, France

* Rome, Italy

São Paulo (state)>São Paulo State, Brazil

* Seoul, South Korea

Partnerships

In addition, Tokyo has a "partnership" agreement with:

	* London, United Kingdom

See also

1703 Genroku earthquake

List of development projects in Tokyo

Notes

References

Fiévé, Nicolas and Paul Waley. (2003). Japanese Capitals in Historical Perspective: Place, Power and Memory in Kyoto, Edo and Tokyo. London: RoutledgeCurzon. 10-ISBN 070071409X/13-ISBN 9780700714094; OCLC 51527561

McClain, James, John M Merriman and Kaoru Ugawa. (1994). Edo and Paris: Urban Life and the State in the Early Modern Era. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 10-ISBN 0801429870/13-ISBN 9780801429873; OCLC 30157716

Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 10-ISBN 0-674-01753-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128

McClain, James, John M Merriman and Kaoru Ugawa. (1994). Edo and Paris: Urban Life and the State in the Early Modern Era. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 10-ISBN 0801429870/13-ISBN 9780801429873; OCLC 30157716

Sorensen, Andre. (2002). The Making of Urban Japan: Cities and Planning from Edo to the Twenty First Century. London: RoutledgeCurzon. 10-ISBN 0415226511/13-ISBN 9780415226516; OCLC 48517502

External links

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Category:Capitals in Asia Category:Host cities of the Summer Olympic Games Category:Kantō region Category:Populated coastal places in Japan Category:Populated places established in 1457 Category:Port settlements in Japan Category:Prefectures of Japan Category:IOC Session Host Cities

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name	Katherine Moennig
birthname	Katherine Sian Moennig
birth date	December 29, 1977
birth place	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
othername	Kate Moennig
occupation	Actress
yearsactive	1999—present
relatives	Gwyneth Paltrow (cousin)
website	}}

Katherine Sian Moennig (Pronounced meh-nig; born December 29, 1977) is an American actress known for her role as Shane McCutcheon on The L Word, as well as Jake Pratt on Young Americans. In 2009, she recently starred as Dr. Miranda Foster on CBS Three Rivers.

Personal life

Moennig was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Broadway dancer Mary Zahn and violin maker William H. Moennig 3rd. Moennig has a half-sister and a half-brother from the first marriage of her father. Moennig is also the niece of actress Blythe Danner (who is the half sister of Moening's father) and cousin of Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow and Jake Paltrow. Moennig is of German, Scottish and Irish descent.

Career

Moennig moved to New York City at the age of 18 to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. There she began a modeling career, and also performed on stage.

In 1999, she had the central role in the Our Lady Peace video "Is Anybody Home?".

Her first major role was in the television series Young Americans, playing Jake Pratt, a girl who enters the Rawley Boys Academy by passing as a boy and ends up falling in love with Hamilton (Ian Somerhalder), the Dean's son.

Moennig has played lesbian roles - Shane McCutcheon on The L Word, she also appeared as a lesbian artist—a former lover of Sophia Myles' character—in Terry Zwigoff's 2006 Art School Confidential.

Moennig has also pursued transgender roles. She auditioned for the part of Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry, which ended up going to actress Hilary Swank, and played Cheryl Avery, a young transsexual woman, in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (episode "Fallacy").

On April 12, 2006, Moennig made her Off Broadway debut, opposite Lee Pace, in Guardians, by Peter Morris. In it, she plays "American Girl"—a young United States Army soldier from West Virginia who becomes a scapegoat in a scandal involving abuse at an Iraqi prison. The story is loosely based on that of Lynndie England.

In 2007, the documentary "My Address: A Look At Gay Youth Homelessness" in New York was launched with Moennig in cooperation with the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI), directed by Gigi Nicolas.

In 2008, Moennig played the role of Mary Landis, a suspect in season 6 episode 19 of CSI:Miami.

In 2009, Moennig joined the cast of Three Rivers, a medical drama set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at a hospital specializing in transplants. Moennig played Dr. Miranda Foster, a surgical fellow with a rebellious streak and fiery temper who strives to live up to her deceased father's excellent surgical reputation. On November 30, 2009, it was announced that CBS had pulled Three Rivers from the schedule, with no plans to return it.

In 2010, Moennig played a tattoo artist in the Dexter episode "First Blood".

In 2011, she played the small role of Gloria, a drug-addicted prostitute, in the film The Lincoln Lawyer.

Film

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role |- | 2000 || The Ice People || Wanja Kasczinksy |- | rowspan="3"| 2001 || The Shipping News || Grace Moosup |- | Love the Hard Way || Debbie |- | Slo-Mo || Raven |- | 2004 || Invitation to a Suicide || Eva |- | 2006 || Art School Confidential || Candace |- | 2009 || Everybody's Fine || Jilly |- | 2011 || The Lincoln Lawyer || Gloria |}

Television

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 2000 || Young Americans || Jacqueline "Jake" Pratt || 8 episodes |- | 2001 || Law & Order || Melissa Cobin || 1 episode (For Love or Money) |- | 2003 || Law & Order: Special Victims Unit || Cheryl Avery || 1 episode (Fallacy) |- | 2004 || The L Word || Shane McCutcheon || 70 episodes, 2004 – 2009 |- | 2008 || CSI: Miami || Mary Landis || 1 episode (Rock and a Hard Place) |- | 2009 || Three Rivers || Dr. Miranda Foster || 10 episodes |- | 2010 || Dexter || Michael Angelo || 1 episode (First Blood) |- |}

References

External links

Katherine Moennig at The L Word official site

Category:American film actors Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Category:1977 births Category:Living people

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