Today is the 50th anniversary of one of Japan’s most famous sights: Tokyo Tower, which serves as the primary broadcasting hub for the entire Tokyo region. It was back during Japan’s period of high economic growth after the end of World War II that the government realized the need for a large, centralized broadcasting point for NHK and the various other private television networks that were emerging, to avoid Tokyo becoming littered with ugly towers. The company that took on the project took its inspiration from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, deciding to recreate the famous structure in a perfect 1:1 scale, although Tokyo Tower had to be designed with earthquakes in mind. Back in 1958, Japan was still underdeveloped economically, and couldn’t produce enough steel for the tower’s construction, so they purchased hundreds of scrapped tanks left over from the Korean War. Today the 333-meter Tokyo Tower is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city, and thousands ascend to the observation decks every year to look out over the sprawling Kanto Plain. (Supposedly you can see Mt. Fuji on a clear day, but I’ve never been able to.) The fascination with the tower can be felt in anime, too, especially in the works of CLAMP, who always manage to work Tokyo Tower into each of their works. Sadly, the company that runs Tokyo Tower is in debt up to its eyeballs thanks to an especially bad investment in a golf course in the 1990s. With the potential loss of broadcasting customers who are scheduled to switch to the new Tokyo Sky Tree tower that will be completed in 2011, one wonders how the company will fare going forward.
