Shinjuku, Tokyo

From Freepedia

Shinjuku (新宿区; -ku) is one of the special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre as well as the location of one of Tokyo's largest public transport interchanges, Shinjuku Station. Shinjuku is home to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Tokyo's tallest building, where political and public administration of Tokyo takes place.

Shinjuku is a major urban-transit hub: Shinjuku Station sees an estimated 2 million passengers pass through it each day, with three subway lines, two private-rail commuter lines, and several JR lines passing through it. It is also home to a heavy concentration of department stores, movie theaters, hotels, bars, etc.

The city of Shinjuku developed into its current form after the Great Kanto earthquake (Kantō-daishinsai) in 1923, since the seismically stable area largely escaped the devastation. Consequently, West Shinjuku is one of the few areas in Tokyo with many skyscrapers. In 1698, during the Edo period, Shinjuku (or Naitō Shinjuku) had developed as a new (shin) station (shuku or juku) on the Kōshū Kaidō. Naitō was a daimyo whose mansion stood in the area; his land is now a public park, the Shinjuku Gyoen.

Major areas of the ward include Ichigaya, Kabukicho (Japan's most famous and second-largest entertainment district, as well as the location of the city offices), Okubo, Shinanomachi, Shinjuku ni-chōme and Takadanobaba. Shinjuku is home to Japan's largest, best-known and most vibrant gay area, Shinjuku ni-chōme.

Shinjuku Ward is also home to Waseda University, the Yakult Swallows baseball team, and a barracks of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

Like the other special wards of Tokyo, Shinjuku has a status equivalent to a city. As of 2005, the mayor is Hiroko Nakayama. The kugikai ("city" council) consists of 38 elected members affiliated with the Liberal Democratic, New Clean Government, Democratic, Communist and other political parties, as well as independents. Its kuyakusho ("city" hall) is at 1-4-1 Kabukicho. The ward was founded on March 15, 1947.

As of 2005, the ward has an estimated population of 273,710 and a density of 15,014.3 persons per km². The total area is 18.23 km². Shinjuku has the highest numbers of registered aliens of any community in Tokyo. As of November 1, 2004, 28,252 people with 107 nationalities were registered as aliens in Shinjuku. The top five nationalities are Korea (including North and South), China, France, Myanmar, and the Philippines.