Cosplaying eccentric Mac Akasaka of the Smile Party snags seat in Tokyo ward assembly
He clambers out from under the table, wearing a pink Hooter's tank top while sporting fluffy angel wings and a halo, before bowing deeply toward the camera and taking a seat. "People of Tokyo — have you been smiling lately!?" he says suddenly, breaking into ...
What would you pay to live in Minato Ward?
It was in 2001 when my friend, Chikako Sakamoto, paid ¥9.8 million for a six-tatami-mat apartment in Tokyo's central Minato Ward. The apartment was inside a 長期滞在者用 (chōki taizaisha-yō, long term resident's) wing of an old hotel in Roppongi, with a very low ceiling ...
Minato Ward hosts first disaster seminar for foreign residents
Foreign residents gathered for a seminar in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Saturday to learn how to use disaster kits and protect themselves during emergencies, even if they can't speak Japanese. The event, which was held in English with the help of volunteers, taught about 60 ...
Populations in three Tokyo wards expected to keep swelling as capital shrinks
The populations of three wards in central Tokyo are projected to keep growing after 2025 even as the capital's overall population is expected to decline, thanks to a construction boom and convenient transport. Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato wards have seen an influx of families and ...
Embassies' ink stamp event gives Tokyo residents a window onto foreign cultures
People in Tokyo are being offered a fun way to visit foreign embassies and get a glimpse of their national cultures. More than 30 of them are taking part in a "stamp rally," in which participants visit specific locations and ink a square on ...
Minato Ward to protect few remaining views of Tokyo Tower
The area that houses the Tokyo Tower takes steps to ensure that high-rises do not obliterate the few remaining views of it.
Typhoon Etau offers first glimpse of Minato Ward's new mudslide alert
As Typhoon Etau ripped northward across the central part of Japan this week, residents, office workers and pedestrians in Tokyo's Minato Ward had a surprise when their smartphones abruptly made an unfamiliar ringtone and the screen flashed an alert. The alert, "evacuation preparation information regarding ...
Typhoon Phanfone prompts evacuation advisory in Tokyo's Minato Ward
The Minato Ward Office issues its first-ever evacuation advisory in response to a natural disaster, urging residents to seek refuge amid an elevated risk of landslides as powerful Typhoon Phanfone swept through the metropolis.
