Suginami

is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The ward refers to itself as Suginami City in English.

As of June 1, 2022, Suginami has an estimated population of 588,354 and a population density of 17,274 persons per km². The total area is 34.06 km².

Geography

Suginami occupies the western part of the ward area of Tokyo. Its neighbors include these special wards: to the east, Shibuya and Nakano; to the north, Nerima; and to the south, Setagaya. Its western neighbors are the cities of Mitaka and Musashino.

The Kanda River passes through Suginami. The Zenpukuji river originates from Zenpukuji Park in western Suginami, and the Myōshōji River originates in Myōshōji Park, to the north of Ogikubo station.

History

The name Suginami dates back to the early Edo period and is a shortened version of ''Suginamiki'' ("avenue of cedars"). This name came about when an early land baron, Lord Tadayoshi Okabe, planted a row of cedar trees to mark the bounds of his property.

The ward was founded on March 15, 1947.

In 1970, 40 high school students in the area were exposed to photochemical smog and required hospitalization. The incident attracted national attention and increased awareness of the dangers of pollution.

Districts and neighborhoods

The following neighborhoods make up Suginami-ku:

; Iogi Area
* Igusa
* Imagawa
* Kamiigusa
* Kamiogi
* Minamiogikubo
* Momoi
* Nishiogikita
* Nishiogiminami
* Ogikubo
* Shimizu
* Shimoigusa
* Zenpukuji

; Suginami Area
* Amanuma
* Asagayakita
* Asagayaminami
* Hon'amanuma
* Kōenjikita
* Kōenjiminami
* Naritahigashi
* Naritanishi
* Umezato

; Takaido Area
* Hamadayama
* Kamitakaido
* Kugayama
* Miyamae
* Shimotakaido
* Shōan
* Takaido
* Takaidohigashi
* Takaidonishi

; Wadabori Area
* Eifuku
* Hōnan
* Horinouchi
* Izumi
* Matsunoki
* Ōmiya
* Wada

Politics

Historically, Suginami has leaned toward liberal activism. In 1954, local housewives launched the "Suginami Appeal" against nuclear weapons, a petition that spread nationwide and ultimately collected 20 million signatures. More recently in 2005, Suginami became part of Japan's fight against nationalist textbook revisionism when residents petitioned Tokyo's courts to prevent the adoption of a controversial textbook published by Fusosha Publishing which claimed to justify Japanese actions during World War II. The ward has also passed an ordinance placing limits on the installation of security cameras.

To combat burglaries, which reached a record number of 1,710 in 2002, the ward created an unconventional anti-crime program called Operation Flower. The ward urged residents to plant flowers facing the street, with the long-term goal of increasing neighborhood watchfulness (necessitated by watering and otherwise attending to the plants). In addition, 9,600 volunteers were recruited for neighborhood safety patrols, 200 security cameras were placed at crime-vulnerable areas, and a daily email update was created for residents. Subsequent to the start of the program, burglaries were down 80% to 390 in 2008.

Suginami refused to connect to Japan's Residents Basic Registry Network. As of 2005, it is implementing a measure to make registry optional.

On June 19, 2022, Satoko Kishimoto was elected mayor despite being a long-time resident of Belgium and not having any connections to the ward. She narrowly defeated 3-term incumbent Ryō Tanaka by less than 200 votes. Kishimoto had come to prominence through online political debates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kishimoto has opposed building new road extensions through Kōenji district and the privatization of public facilities. Kishimoto is the district's first-ever female leader and plans on creating more opportunities for women in Japanese politics. Japan currently has only 2 female politicians in the current national cabinet and only 3 female mayors out of Tokyo's 23 main districts.

Transportation

Rail

*JR East
**Chūō Main Line ( Chūō-Sobu Line): Koenji, Asagaya, Ogikubo, Nishi-Ogikubo Stations
*Keio Corporation
** Keio Line: Hachiman-yama Station, Roka-kōen Station
**Keio Inokashira Line: Eifuku-cho, Nishi Eifuku, Hamada-yama, Takaido, Fujimi-ga-oka, Kuga-yama Stations
*Seibu Railway
** Seibu Shinjuku Line: Shimo-Igusa, Iogi, Kami-Igusa Stations
*Tokyo Metro
**Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line: Honancho (branch line); Higashi Koenji, Shin-Koenji, Minami Asagaya, Ogikubo Stations

Road

*National highways: Route 20, the Kōshū Kaidō
*Kan-nana Dori (Number 7 Ring Road)
*Kan-pachi Dori (Number 8 Ring Road)
*Itsukaichi Kaidō

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