The is a

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

located in Nagatachō,

Chiyoda, Tokyo , known as Chiyoda City in English,
." ''City of Chiyoda''. Retrieved on December 28, 2008. is a S ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It contains offices, residences, and shops, with 38 floors above ground and a total floor area of 76,634 square meters. It is situated on the Sotobori-dōri trunk road, near the

National Diet Building The is the building where both houses of the National Diet, National Diet of Japan meet. It is located at Nagatachō, Tokyo, Nagatachō 1-chome 7–1, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Sessions of the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives ta ...

and other central government institutions, including the Prime Minister's Official Residence.Prudential Tower
Mori Building Company Floors 26–38 of this mixed-use building are residential, floors 3–24 offices, and the bottom floors retail space. The building can be accessed from five subway lines through the

Tokyo Metro The Tokyo Metro () is a major rapid transit system in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the #Organization, Tokyo Metro Co. With an average daily ridership of 6.52 million passengers (as of 2023), the Tokyo Metro is the larger of the Tokyo subway, two s ...

stations Akasaka-mitsuke and Nagatachō.

History

Prior to and during World War II, the site was occupied by a luxury Japanese restaurant that was one of the command bases used by dissident military officers during the February 26 Incident in 1936. The restaurant was destroyed during the

bombing of Tokyo The was a series of air raids on Japan by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), primarily launched during the closing campaigns of the Pacific War, Pacific Theatre of World War II in 1944–1945, prior to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima ...

in 1945. Aiichirō Fujiyama's business conglomerate planned to build a luxury apartment complex on the site after the war, but the award of the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

to Tokyo led to a "hotel boom" in the city. The site was re-purposed for the Hotel New Japan, one of the first modern hotels in Tokyo, which opened in 1960 and became a center of political, social and media activity in Tokyo during the 1960s and 1970s. The hotel was severely damaged in February 1982 after a guest smoking in bed started a fire, which spread quickly due to a combination of inadequate safety equipment and inadequate staff response, killing 33 people. The Tokyo metropolitan government ordered the hotel closed shortly thereafter, although the hotel's basement nightclub, New Latin Quarter, remained operational through 1989. There are

urban legend Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be e ...

s that the Prudential Tower is haunted by

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

s as a result of the disaster. Chiyoda Life Insurance, a major creditor of the hotel's bankrupt owner, acquired the long-abandoned hotel site in 1996 and began development of an office tower on the site. Chiyoda itself entered bankruptcy in 2000, following which Prudential Life Insurance acquired the project and completed construction through cooperation with

Mori Building is a Japanese family-owned property management firm. As of 2015, its president and CEO is Shingo Tsuji. Its headquarters are in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Minato, Tokyo. Mori Building has been managing office bui ...

. Construction of the 158-meter tower was finished in 2002.

References

External links

*, Emporis Commercial buildings completed in 2002 Residential skyscrapers in Tokyo Skyscrapers in Chiyoda, Tokyo Prudential Financial buildings Skyscraper office buildings in Tokyo Retail buildings in Tokyo 2002 establishments in Japan {{Japan-struct-stub