Minato, Tokyo
Minato (港区, Minato-ku) [minato] is a special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is also called Minato City in English.
This article is about a central ward in Tokyo. For other uses, see Minato.
Minato
港区
Japan
Ai Seike (since 28 June 2024)
20.37 km2 (7.86 sq mi)
260,486
13,000/km2 (33,000/sq mi)
1-5-25 Shibakōen,
Minato, Tokyo
105-8511
Minato was formed in 1947 as a merger of Akasaka, Azabu and Shiba wards following Tokyo City's transformation into Tokyo Metropolis. The modern Minato ward exhibits the contrasting Shitamachi and Yamanote geographical and cultural division. The Shinbashi neighborhood in the ward's northeastern corner is attached to the core of Shitamachi, the original commercial center of Edo-Tokyo. On the other hand, the Azabu and Akasaka areas are typically representative Yamanote districts.[2]
As of 1 July 2015, Minato had an official population of 243,094,[3] and a population density of 10,850 persons per km2. The total area is 20.37 km2.[4]
Known as one of Tokyo's largest business areas, Minato is home to the headquarters of many large domestic companies, including Honda, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, NEC, Nikon, SoftBank Group,[5] Sony,[6] Fujitsu[7] and Yokohama Rubber Company. Minato is also known for being one of the wealthiest residential areas in Japan, and for its relatively high concentration of foreign expats due to the number of embassies and multinational corporations located in and around the area.[8][9] Notable neighborhoods and districts of Minato include Akasaka, Aoyama, Azabu, Roppongi and Toranomon.
History[edit]
The ward was founded on 15 March 1947, with the merger of Akasaka, Azabu, and Shiba Wards. Various names were considered for the new ward, such as Atago, Aoyama, Aoba, Iikura, Mita, and Higashiminato. Higashiminato was chosen, meaning "East Harbor", but then Higashi was cut leading to the name Minato, simply meaning "harbor".