Vol. 33 Summer 2005

Tokyo's Akihabara district is famous worldwide for Electric Town, a bustling electrical and electronics products bazaar and showcase for leading-edge multimedia products that attracts visitors from near and far.In the 21st century, Akihabara is undergoing a metamorphosis into a global IT center. Providing the force behind this transformation is Akihabara Crossfield, a mixed-use commercial facility being developed by Kajima and two other companies.What sort of collaboration and synergy can we expect between Akihabara Crossfield and Electric Town, which time and again has changed its countenance to remain in step with the times? Expectations are high for a new, revitalized Akihabara. Important Transportation Hub Akihabara is located in Chiyoda Ward about two kilometers (1.2 miles)north of Tokyo Station, roughly in the center of Japan's sprawling capital.The district is a strategically positioned public transportation node with three railway stations where six Japan Railway (JR)and subway lines converge.Akihabara Station will be a terminal station on the Tsukuba Express, a rapid-transit railway currently under construction and scheduled to go into service in August this year.The new line will directly link Akihabara and Tsukuba Science City -- a center of higher education, scientific research, and high-tech entrepre- neurialism established as a Japanese government initiative --whisking passengers along the 58.3-kilometer (36-mile)route in just 45 minutes.

The Akihabara Brand Akihabara Crossfield is situated on a 1.57-hectare (3.9-acre)site north of JR Akihabara Station.The core facilities of the complex are two high-rise buildings:the 31-story Akihabara Daibiru Building, which was completed in March this year, and the 22-story Akihabara UDX, which is scheduled for completion in March 2006.The concept for the development scheme was set forth as part of Tokyo Plan 2000, an urban revitalization plan established by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.In the plan, the sites of the former Kanda vegetable and fruit market and Japan National Railways Akihabara freight depot were targeted for redevelopment as a project whose aim is to leverage the "Akihabara brand " and the district's unique characteristics to develop a global base for IT-related industries.The watchword for the project is "Interaction between people and information, " and the development concept hinges on the integration of three functions: collaboration between industry and academia, information networks, and visitor attractions.

The pedestrian deck passes through the UDX pilotis.

Event space AKIBA SQUARE

Hosting of Industry and Academia The Akihabara Daibiru Building was built to serve as a hub for collaboration between industry and academia and for information networks.Recently, 16 organizations carefully selected on the basis of the concept "IT industry creation " were accepted as Akihabara Daibiru Building tenants.The tenants include the University of Tokyo, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, the University of Tsukuba, and the Japan Patent Attorneys Association.The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Information Science and Technology has established a major in creative informatics.The University of Tsukuba has established a law school and plans to expand and enhance its lectures on intellectual property rights.The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, which has a base in Tsukuba Science City, envisions Akihabara Daibiru as a facility for spreading the results of research in leading-edge technologies.Kajima has also established a new research and development base in the building.

The opening ceremony held at the convention hall(Akihabara Daibiru)

The plan for Akihabara UDX, which opens next spring, is to create a facility to attract visitors to the district with a multifunctional event hall, restaurants, and a parking garage with capacity for about 800 vehicles.The upper floors of the building will be devoted to office space, and it is expected that many IT companies will seek occupancy. Integration with Akihabara Electric Town In a parallel development, an IT- centered plan to attract tourists to the Akihabara district is being discussed.The plan calls for creating a theme park for leading-edge technologies whose attractions will include a museum for people to experience scientific experiments that bear closely on their lives, the introduction throughout the district of new technologies and products under development, and IT street performances using robots and science implements.The Akihabara Electrical Town Organization has announced a number of promotional measures to impart a sense of unity with the collaborative IT base at Akihabara Crossfield.Professor Kenichiro Senoh of the University of Tokyo Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, who has coordinated the critical collaboration between industry and academia, explains the concept as the creation of "A town people will want to commute to every day."

High-rise buildings tower over Electric Town.

In the planning of Akihabara Crossfield, emphasis was placed on both sophistication of facilities function and the design of a pathway into the retail district.A smooth flow of pedestrians into Electric Town is ensured by means of a pedestrian deck that links the JR Akihabara Station plaza with the two high-rise buildings.A critical priority in the creation of a base for the IT industry is to have a bustling district where people gather and walk about. Akihabara has always changed and evolved in step with technological innovation.Today, it is being reborn as a more highly specialized nucleus of IT enterprise.Look for the new Akihabara to carry on with the tradition of growth through the assimilation of change. A New Business Model Kajima is in charge of every aspect of the Akihabara Crossfield project, from development to design, construction, and management and operation. Kajima's policy is to leverage its technological capabilities and overall corporate strength to actively propose solutions that integrate tangible and intangible benefits, primarily in large metropolitan areas.A precursor of that policy, the Akihabara project has led to the establishment of a new business model.

Akihabara through the Years Akihabara has undergone many changes over the years.Owing to its location near the Imperial Palace, during the Edo Period (1603 --1867) it was a densely populated quarter for lower-ranking samurai and the scene of frequent fires.Following a devastating fire in 1869, Akiba Jinja, a Shinto shrine dedicated to the god of fire prevention, was constructed. The name Akihabara was taken from the shrine. What is today Akihabara Electric Town began to emerge soon after the end of World War II, when the entire district was burned to the ground during the bombing of Tokyo.After the war, the area around the station became a thriving black market as street vendors collected under the protection of the overhead railway to sell radio parts. When Japan underwent a postwar radio craze, these businesses flourished and became established merchants.Subsequently, the widespread use of televisions, washing machines, and other consumer appliances brought a period of dramatic growth, and full- line electrical product wholesalers and merchants created an image of Akihabara as the place to go for inexpensive electrical products. Over the years, area electrical products and machinery wholesalers and retailers firmly established Akihabara as a world-famous electronics quarter and a showcase for cutting-edge multimedia products. Today, there is another side to Akihabara.The district has become a center for the three IT intangibles: Internet-related services, software, and information processing services. Recently, there has been a conspicuous increase in the number of tourists from overseas drawn by the appeal of the "Akihabara brand," and Akihabara seems poised to enter a new era of growth and development. Akihabara around 1950 Myriad small shops sell electric parts at low prices. Shops that sell animation-related products enjoy brisk business these days.

Vol. 33 Summer 2005 Akihabara Crossfield: Transformation into a Global IT Stronghold Kajima around the World

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