Kasumigaseki Explained

Kasumigaseki (霞が関, 霞ヶ関 or 霞ケ関) is a district in Chiyoda Ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is the location of most of Japan's cabinet ministry offices. The name is often used as a metonym for the Japanese government bureaucracy, while Nagatachō refers to the elected government or the legislative branch. Kasumigaseki Station was one of the stations affected during the Tokyo subway sarin attack.

Notable sites

Government offices

• 2nd Bldg. of the Central Common Government Office^[1]
  • Japan Transport Safety Board^[2]
  • National Public Safety Commission^[3]
• Fair Trade Commission
• Coast Guard
• Patent Office
• Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
• Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
• Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
• Ministry of Finance
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Ministry of Justice
• Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
• Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
• Ministry of the Environment
• Public Security Intelligence Agency
• National Police Agency
• Financial Services Agency
• Agency for Cultural Affairs
• National Personnel Authority
• Board of Audit of Japan
• Tokyo Metropolitan Police HQ
• Tokyo High Court and Intellectual Property High Court
• Tokyo District Court, Summary Court and Family Court

Other buildings

• Japan Post headquarters
• Kasumigaseki Building - Tokyo's first high-rise office building^[4]
  • The Asian Development Bank Institute has its head office on the 8th floor of the Kasumigaseki Building.^[5] On the same floor, the Asian Development Bank has its Japan offices.^[6]
• Kasumigaseki Common Gate - Twin tower buildings adjacent to the Kasumigaseki Building.
• New Kasumigaseki Building
• Nipponkoa Insurance Building

Subway stations

• Kasumigaseki Station (Chiyoda Line, Hibiya Line, Marunouchi Line)
• Sakuradamon Station (Yūrakuchō Line)
• Toranomon Station (Ginza Line)

Economy

Japan Post Holdings has its headquarters in Kasumigaseki.^[7] Tokuyama Corporation has its headquarters in Kasumigaseki Common Gate West Tower and PricewaterhouseCoopers has offices on the 15th floor of the Kasumigaseki Building.^{[8] [9]} Also in the Kasumigaseki Building has its headquarters the Lixil Group Corporation.^[10]

At different points of time All Nippon Airways and Mitsui Chemicals had their headquarters in the Kasumigaseki Building.^{[11] [12]} In July 1978, when Nippon Cargo Airlines first began, it operated within a single room inside All Nippon Airways's space in the Kasumigaseki Building.^[13]

At one time Cantor Fitzgerald had an office in the Toranomon Mitsui Building in Kasumigaseki.^[14]

Education

operates public elementary and junior high schools. Kōjimachi Elementary School (千代田区立麹町小学校) is the zoned elementary of Kasumigaseki 1-3 chōme.^[15] There is a freedom of choice system for junior high schools in Chiyoda Ward, and so there are no specific junior high school zones.^[16]

Spelling

The current official spelling of the district's name is Japanese: 霞が関, with が in hiragana; before 1967, it was spelled Japanese: 霞ヶ関, with a small ヶ.^[17] The name of the Tokyo Metro station is spelled "Japanese: 霞ケ関", with a large ケ.^[18] All three spellings can still be found by various institutions in the area.

External links

• History of Kasumigaseki

Notes and References

1. "Ministry Access by Public Transportation." (Archive) Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Retrieved on April 6, 2009. "Address: 2nd Bldg. of the Central Common Government Office, 2-1-2, Kasumigaseski, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8926, Japan"
2. "Home." (English) Japan Transport Safety Board. Retrieved on April 27, 2013. "2-1-2 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (100-8918)" Japanese address: "〒100-8918　東京都千代田区霞が関2-1-2"
3. "Index.pdf." (Archive) National Public Safety Commission. Retrieved on April 6, 2009. "〒１００－８９７４ 東京都千代田区霞が関２－１－２"
4. Web site: Japan's first skyscraper turns 30. Japan Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20150324102656/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/1998/04/17/national/japans-first-skyscraper-turns-30/#.VRE8CuHdVVc. 2015-03-24. 1998-04-17.
5. "Contact Us." Asian Development Bank Institute. Retrieved on February 19, 2012. "ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK INSTITUTE Kasumigaseki Building 8F 3-2-5, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6008, Japan"
6. "Contacts." (Archive) Asian Development Bank. Retrieved on February 19, 2012. "Kasumigaseki Building 8F 3-2-5 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-6008, Japan"
7. "About Japan Post ." Japan Post Holdings. Retrieved on April 24, 2010.
8. "Business Sites in Japan." Tokuyama Corporation. Retrieved on February 13, 2015.
9. "PwC office locations in Japan." PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Retrieved on February 18, 2010.
10. "Corporate Information." Lixil Group Corporation. Retrieved on October 13, 2016.
11. "What's New." Mitsui Chemicals. June 5, 2001. Retrieved on February 18, 2010.
12. "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 30, 1985. 50." Retrieved on June 17, 2009.
13. "Chapter 3. On the path to becoming a member of the incumbent carrier group." Nippon Cargo Lines. Retrieved on February 18, 2010.
14. "office locations." Cantor Fitzgerald. March 4, 2000. Retrieved on October 4, 2009.
15. Web site: 区立小学校の通学区域. Chiyoda Board of Education. 2022-10-08.
16. Web site: 区立中学校の通学区域と学校選択. Chiyoda Board of Education. 2022-10-08. 千代田区では、[...] .
17. Web site: 千代田区ホームページ - 町名由来板：霞ヶ関（かすみがせき） . . 22 July 2023 . 11 Nov 2014 . 霞が関（かすみがせき）（昭和四十二年〈1967年〉に霞ヶ関から改称）といいます.
18. Web site: 霞ケ関駅/M15/H07/C08 路線・駅の情報 東京メトロ . . 22 July 2023.