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51-519: Shibuya ( 渋谷 区 , Shibuya-ku , IPA: [ɕibɯja] ) is a special ward in Tokyo , Japan . A major commercial center, Shibuya houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station and Shinjuku Station . As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,609 in 142,443 households and a population density of 15,262.01 people per square kilometre (39,528.4 people/sq mi). The total area

102-600: A mixed-used skyscraper, Shibuya Scramble Square , was completed in August 2019. A shopping mall, Shibuya Fukuras, was completed in October 2019. Miyashita Park closed in 2017 and reopened in July 2020 as a shopping complex with a rooftop park. Shibuya includes many well-known commercial and residential districts such as Daikanyama , Ebisu , Harajuku , Hiroo , Higashi , Omotesandō , Sendagaya , and Yoyogi . Per Japanese census data,

153-413: A new 2012 law, – sometimes informally called "Osaka Metropolis plan law", but not specifically referring to Osaka – major cities and their surrounding municipalities in prefectures other than Tokyo may be replaced with special wards with similar functions if approved by the involved municipal and prefectural governments and ultimately the citizens of the dissolving municipalities in a referendum. Prerequisite

204-452: A time. A statue of the dog Hachikō , remembered for his unwavering loyalty to his deceased owner, is installed outside Shibuya Station. The statue and its surrounding Hachikō Square are a common meeting place and are almost always crowded. On the southwest side of Shibuya Station, there is a Moyai statue , given to Shibuya by the people of Niijima Island in 1980. The main station in Shibuya

255-538: A whole, e.g. today's Hiroshima City ( -shi ) was then Hiroshima-ku ; the three major cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto were each subdivided into several such wards. In Tokyo Prefecture, this created 15 wards (listed below) and six counties/districts. In 1888, the central government created the legal framework for the current system of cities ( shi ) that granted some basic local autonomy rights – with some similarities to Prussia's system of local self-government as Meiji government advisor Albert Mosse heavily influenced

306-632: Is Shibuya Station . The southern half of Shinjuku Station , including the New South Entrance, is located in Shibuya. Several companies are headquartered in Shibuya. Calpis , Casio , Mixi , Niwango , Nihon Dempa Kogyo , and Tokyu Corporation have their headquarters in Shibuya. East Japan Railway Company have their headquarters in Yoyogi , Shibuya. 81 Produce has its headquarters in Tomigaya , Shibuya. At one time Smilesoft had its headquarters in

357-545: Is 15.11 km (5.83 sq mi). Notable neighborhoods and districts of Shibuya include Harajuku , Ebisu , Omotesandō , Yoyogi and Sendagaya . Shibuya came into the possession of the Shibuya clan in the early 1160s, after which the area was named. The branch of the clan that ruled this area was defeated by the Later Hōjō clan on 13 January 1524, during the Sengoku period , and the area then came under their control. During

408-405: Is a population of at least 2 million in the dissolving municipalities; three cities (Yokohama, Nagoya and Osaka) meet this requirement on their own, seven other major city areas can set up special wards if a designated city is joined by neighboring municipalities. However, prefectures ( 道府県 , -dō/-fu/-ken ) where special wards are set up cannot style themselves metropolis ( 都 , -to ) as

459-521: Is similar between the Federal District and its 35 administrative regions in Brazil . To finance the joint public services it provides to the 23 wards, the metropolitan government levies some of the taxes that would normally be levied by city governments, and also makes transfer payments to wards that cannot finance their own local administration. Waste disposal is handled by each ward under direction of

510-501: The 23 wards ( 23区 , nijūsan-ku ) or just Tokyo ( 東京 , Tōkyō ) if the context makes obvious that this does not refer to the whole prefecture. Today, all wards refer to themselves as a city in English, but the Japanese designation of special ward ( tokubetsu-ku ) remains unchanged. They are a group of 23 municipalities; there is no associated single government body separate from

561-596: The Constitution of Japan . This means that they had no constitutional right to pass their own legislation, or to hold direct elections for mayors and councilors. While these authorities were granted by statute during the US-led occupation and again in 1975, they could be unilaterally revoked by the National Diet ; similar measures against other municipalities would require a constitutional amendment. The denial of elected mayors to

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612-597: The Edo period , Shibuya, particularly Maruyamachō on Dōgenzaka , prospered as a town on Oyama Road (present-day Route 246 ), and in the Meiji era , as a Hanamachi . The village of Shibuya was incorporated in 1889 by the merger of the villages of Kami-Shibuya, Naka-Shibuya and Shimo-Shibuya within Minami-Toshima County (Toyotama County from 1896). The village covered the territory of modern-day Shibuya Station area as well as

663-453: The Edo period , Shibuya, particularly Maruyamachō on Dōgenzaka , prospered as a town on Oyama Road (present-day Route 246 ), and in the Meiji era , as a Hanamachi . Shibuya emerged as a railway terminus during the expansion of the railway network beginning in the 19th century, and was incorporated as a ward in the City of Tokyo on 1 October 1932. Shibuya, once a mediocre area developed around

714-465: The Hiroo , Daikanyama , Aoyama , and Ebisu areas. Shibuya became a town in 1909. The town of Shibuya merged with the neighboring towns of Sendagaya (which included the modern Senda , Harajuku and Jingumae areas) and Yoyohata (which included the modern Yoyogi and Hata areas) to form Shibuya-ku suburban ward upon being absorbed into Tokyo City in 1932. Shibuya became an urban special ward under

765-646: The Local Autonomy Act in 1947. The Tokyu Toyoko Line opened in 1932, making Shibuya a key terminal between Tokyo and Yokohama , and was joined by the forerunner of the Keio Inokashira Line in 1933 and the forerunner of the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line in 1938. The story of Hachikō , a dog who waited for his deceased master at Shibuya Station every day from 1923 to 1935, created a national sensation due to his unwavering loyalty. A statue of Hachikō

816-565: The Local Autonomy Law only allows Tokyo with that status. In Osaka , a 2015 referendum to replace the city with five special wards was defeated narrowly. Many important districts are located in Tokyo's special wards: Tokyo City Tokyo City ( 東京市 , Tōkyō-shi ) was a municipality in Japan and capital of Tokyo Prefecture (or Tokyo-fu ) which existed from 1 May 1889 until

867-438: The National Diet designated the special wards as local public entities ( 地方公共団体 , chihō kōkyō dantai ) , giving them a legal status similar to cities. The wards vary greatly in area (from 10 to 60 km ) and population (from less than 40,000 to 830,000), and some are expanding as artificial islands are built. Setagaya has the most people, while neighboring Ōta has the largest area. The total population census of

918-519: The Tokyo Metropolitan Government , which governs all 62 municipalities of Tokyo, not just the special wards. Analogues exist in historic and contemporary Chinese and Korean administration: "Special wards" are city-independent wards, analogously, " special cities /special cities" (teukbyeol-si/tokubetsu-shi) are province-/prefecture-independent cities and were intended to be introduced under SCAP in Japan, too; but in Japan, implementation

969-411: The athletics 50 km walk and marathon course during the 1964 games. In the mid-1990s, Shibuya-kei , a microgenre of pop music, became mainstream in Japan. Distinguished by a "cut-and-paste" approach, it peaked in the late 1990s and declined after its principal players began moving onto other music styles. Shibuya Stream , a skyscraper and retail complex, was completed in 2018. The East Wing of

1020-550: The prefectural government , then renamed to "Metropolitan". During the Occupation of Japan , municipal autonomy was restored to former Tokyo City by the establishment of special wards, each with directly elected mayor and assembly, as in any other city, town or village in Tokyo and the rest of the country. In Japanese, they are collectively also known as "Wards area of Tokyo Metropolis" ( 東京都区部 , Tōkyō-to kubu ) , "former Tokyo City" ( 旧東京市 , kyū-Tōkyō-shi ) , or less formally

1071-401: The 23 special wards had fallen under 8 million as the postwar economic boom moved people out to suburbs, and then rose as Japan's lengthy stagnation took its toll and property values drastically changed, making residential inner areas up to 10 times less costly than during peak values. Its population was 8,949,447 as of October 1, 2010, about two-thirds of the population of Tokyo and a quarter of

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1122-525: The CT Sasazuka Building in Shibuya. In May 1985 the headquarters of Bandai Visual moved to Shibuya. In March 1990 the headquarters moved to Shinjuku . A.D. Vision - Tokyo, Y.K., the Japanese subsidiary of A.D. Vision , was in Shibuya. Acclaim Entertainment once had its Tokyo office in the Nomora Building. The Japanese subsidiary of Titus Interactive , Titus Japan K.K., had its head office on

1173-1017: The Central Library, the Nishihara Library, the Shibuya Library, the Tomigaya Library, the Sasazuka Library, the Honmachi Library, and the Rinsen Library. In addition, the Yoyogi Youth Hall houses the Yoyogi Library Room. Shibuya has appeared in the manga Alice in Borderland , Jujutsu Kaisen with its 'Shibuya Incident' arc, Super GALS! Kotobuki Ran , Tokyo Revengers and Ya Boy Kongming! . It has featured in

1224-453: The Shibuya clan in the early 1160s, after which the area was named. The clan was a cadet branch of the Taira clan descended from Taira no Yoshifumi . The clan built a fortress near the present-day Konnō Hachimangu Shrine. The branch of the clan that ruled this area was defeated by the Later Hōjō clan on 13 January 1524, during the Sengoku period , and the area then came under their control. During

1275-521: The administration also moved to expel the homeless in Miyashita Park and other parks in the ward". Pointing out that the mayor of Shibuya Ward in an interview stated that this is not a matter of human rights, but of diversity, Yuri Horie claimed that the term of diversity seems to be used to divide citizens into the good and the bad; it raises only the ones who contribute to the consumeristic society as representer of "diversity of sexuality" while excluding

1326-411: The administrative wards of cities (that unlike Tokyo City retained their elected mayors and assemblies) but still less than other municipalities in Tokyo or the rest of the country, making them less independent than cities, towns or villages, but more independent than city subdivisions. Today, each special ward has its own elected mayor ( 区長 , kuchō ) and assembly ( 区議会 , kugikai ) . In 2000,

1377-458: The autonomy law today allows for special wards to be established in other prefectures, to date they exist only in Tokyo , which consists of 23 special wards and 39 other, ordinary municipalities ( cities , towns , and villages ). The special wards of Tokyo occupy the land that was Tokyo City in its 1936 borders before it was abolished under the Tōjō Cabinet in 1943 to become directly ruled by

1428-617: The certificate, couples must be 20-years-old or older residents of Shibuya Ward and have to state that "their relationship is based on love and mutual trust" in a notarized document. Koyuki Higashi (a former member of the Takarazuka Revue ) and Hiroko Masuhara (an entrepreneur), a lesbian couple, were the first to receive this certification. Since the Shibuya Ward passed the ordinance, seven other municipalities in Japan have begun offering similar certificates. The BBC notes that in practice,

1479-510: The current city area. On March 15, 1943, as part of wartime totalitarian tightening of controls, Tokyo's local autonomy (elected council and mayor) under the Imperial municipal code was eliminated by the Tōjō cabinet and the Tokyo city government and ( Home ministry appointed) prefectural government merged into a single (appointed) prefectural government; the wards were placed under the direct control of

1530-749: The eighth floor of the Kotubuki Dogenzaka Building in Dōgenzaka . The former animation studio; Group TAC was also located here. Square Enix headquarters were located in Yoyogi before moving to Shinjuku in 2012. The Shibuya City Board of Education  [ ja ] operates public elementary and junior high schools, while Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education operates public senior high schools. Public combined elementary and junior high schools Junior high schools: Elementary schools: Shibuya operates several public libraries, including

1581-564: The establishment of Tokyo Metropolis on 1 July 1943. The historical boundaries of Tokyo City are now occupied by the special wards of Tokyo . The defunct city and its prefecture became what is now Tokyo, also known as the Tokyo Metropolis or, ambiguously, Tokyo Prefecture. In 1868, the city of Edo , seat of the Tokugawa government, was renamed Tokyo, and the offices of Tokyo Prefecture ( -fu ) were opened. The extent of Tokyo Prefecture

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1632-537: The government began to appoint a separate mayor of Tokyo City in 1898, but retained ward-level legislation, which continues to this day in the special ward system. From 1926, the mayor was elected by the elected city council/assembly from its own ranks. The city hall of Tokyo was located in the Yūrakuchō district, on a site now occupied by the Tokyo International Forum . Tokyo became the second-largest city in

1683-514: The metropolitan government. For example, plastics were generally handled as non-burnable waste until the metropolitan government announced a plan to halt burying of plastic waste by 2010; as a result, about half of the special wards now treat plastics as burnable waste, while the other half mandate recycling of either all or some plastics. Unlike other municipalities (including the municipalities of western Tokyo ), special wards were initially not considered to be local public entities for purposes of

1734-545: The ordinance is not binding, though their names will be posted on the ward's website if they violate the ordinance. Shimizu says the system "is not equivalent to marriage, as it does not accord same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples when it comes to inheritance, joint filing of taxes, or social welfare". As it requires at least a hundred thousand yen to apply for the certificate, it can be restrictive to some couples. Shimizu argues that Shibuya Ward has been criticized for pinkwashing as "while passing this ordinance,

1785-489: The organization of local government. But under a special imperial regulation, Tokyo City, like Kyoto City and Osaka City, initially did not maintain a separate mayor; instead, the (appointed) governor of Tokyo Prefecture served as mayor of Tokyo City. The Tokyo city council /assembly ( Tōkyō-shikai ) was first elected in May 1889. Each ward also retained its own assembly. City and prefectural government were separated in 1898., and

1836-615: The population is rising again after decline between 1960 and 2000. Shibuya is run by a city assembly of 34 elected members. The mayor is Ken Hasebe, an independent . In 2015, as the council passed "Ordinance for Promoting Respect of Gender Equality and Diversity in the Ward", Shibuya Ward became the first Japanese municipality that issues same-sex partnership certificates. According to this ordinance, same-sex couples who live in Shibuya are allowed "to rent apartments together, and have gained hospital visitation rights as family members". The ordinance

1887-500: The population of the Greater Tokyo Area . As of December 2012, the population passed 9 million; the 23 wards have a population density of 14,485 people/km (37,520 people/sq mi). The Mori Memorial Foundation put forth a proposal in 1999 to consolidate the 23 wards into six larger cities for efficiency purposes, and an agreement was reached between the metropolitan and special ward governments in 2006 to consider realignment of

1938-431: The prefecture. The 35 wards of the former city were integrated into 22 on March 15, 1947, just before the legal definition of special wards was given by the Local Autonomy Law , enforced on May 3 the same year. The 23rd ward, Nerima, was formed on August 1, 1947, when Itabashi was split again. The postwar reorganization under the US-led occupation authorities democratized the prefectural administrations but did not include

1989-412: The railway terminus, overtook Shinjuku as a hub for youth culture in the 1970s. The coinciding competition between Seibu (whose most notable development projects include Shibuya 109 ) and Tokyu ( Tokyu Hands ) to develop the area as a commercial center added to its appeal to young people, which in turn spread to other neighborhoods in the ward, such as Harajuku . Shibuya came into the possession of

2040-478: The reinstitution of Tokyo City. Seiichirō Yasui , a former Home Ministry bureaucrat and appointed governor, won the first Tokyo gubernatorial election against Daikichirō Tagawa, a former Christian Socialist member of the Imperial Diet, former vice mayor of Tokyo city and advocate of Tokyo city's local autonomy. Since the 1970s, the special wards of Tokyo have exercised a considerably higher degree of autonomy than

2091-465: The same way as Tokyo City, making the boroughs top-level divisions of England or New York state. Although special wards are autonomous from the Tokyo metropolitan government, they also function as a single urban entity in respect to certain public services, including water supply, sewage disposal, and fire services. These services are handled by the Tokyo metropolitan government, whereas cities would normally provide these services themselves. This situation

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2142-766: The special wards was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in the 1963 decision Japan v. Kobayashi et al. (also known as Tokyo Ward Autonomy Case). In 1998, the National Diet passed a revision of the Local Autonomy Law (effective in the year 2000) that implemented the conclusions of the Final Report on the Tokyo Ward System Reform increasing their fiscal autonomy and established the wards as basic local public entities. The word "special" distinguishes them from

2193-686: The television series Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night . It has also appeared in the videogames Chaos;Head , Ghostwire: Tokyo , Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! , Persona 5 , The World Ends With You , Neo: The World Ends with You and Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE . There are following offices at the United Nations University Headquarters Building in Jingūmae , Shibuya. Following countries operate their embassies in Shibuya. Special wards of Tokyo Although

2244-507: The useless ones. Yuki Tsuchiya, a lesbian activist, also argues that LGBT individuals are used to promote the ward. Shibuya is famous for its scramble crossing , called Shibuya Crossing . It is located in front of the Shibuya Station Hachikō exit and stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to inundate the entire intersection. Shibuya Crossing is the "world's busiest pedestrian crossing", with upwards of 3,000 people at

2295-505: The wards ( 区 , ku ) of other major Japanese cities. Before 1943, the wards of Tokyo City were no different from the wards of Osaka or Kyoto . These original wards numbered 15 in 1889. Large areas from five surrounding districts were merged into the city in 1932 and organized in 20 new wards, bringing the total to 35; the expanded city was also referred to as "Greater Tokyo" ( 大東京 , Dai-Tōkyō ) . By this merger, together with smaller ones in 1920 and 1936, Tokyo City came to expand to

2346-464: The wards, but there has been minimal further movement to change the current special ward system. Special wards do not currently exist outside Tokyo; however, several Osaka area politicians, led by Governor Tōru Hashimoto , are backing an Osaka Metropolis plan under which the city of Osaka would be replaced by special wards, consolidating many government functions at the prefectural level and devolving other functions to more localized governments. Under

2397-520: The world (population 4.9 million) upon absorbing several outlying districts in July 1932, giving the city a total of 35 wards. In 1943, the city was abolished along with Tokyo Prefecture to form Tokyo Metropolis and Tokyo Metropolitan Government , which was functionally a part of the central government of Japan: the governor of Tokyo became a Cabinet minister reporting directly to the Prime Minister . This system remained in place until 1947 when

2448-403: Was built adjacent to the station, and the surrounding Hachikō Square is now one of the most popular meeting points in the area. During the occupation of Japan , Yoyogi Park was used as a housing compound for U.S. personnel known as "Washington Heights". The U.S. military left in 1964, and much of the park was repurposed as venues for the 1964 Summer Olympics . The ward itself served as part of

2499-470: Was initially limited to the former Edo city, but rapidly augmented to be comparable with the present Tokyo Metropolis. In 1878, the Meiji government's reorganization of local governments subdivided prefectures into counties or districts ( gun , further subdivided into towns and villages , later reorganized similar to Prussian districts ) and districts or wards ( ku ) which were in ordinary prefectures cities as

2550-406: Was intended to bring three benefits to same-sex couples: "(1) rental housing within the ward (co-signing of tenancy agreements for municipal/public housing), (2) medical institutions within the ward (hospital visitation and medical decision-making rights as family members), and (3) employment conditions within the ward (e.g. family benefits, congratulations and condolence leave)". In order to apply for

2601-531: Was stalled, and in 1956 special cities were replaced in the Local Autonomy Law with designated major cities which gain additional autonomy, but remain part of prefectures. In everyday English, Tokyo as a whole is also referred to as a city even though it contains 62 cities, towns, villages and special wards. The closest English equivalents for the special wards would be the London boroughs or New York City boroughs if Greater London and New York City had been abolished in

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