Kōtō (江東区) is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The ward refers to itself as Kōtō City in English. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 488,632, and a population density of 12,170 persons per km2. The total area is approximately 40.16 km2. Kōtō is located east of the Tokyo metropolitan center, bounded by the Sumida River to the west and the Arakawa River to the east. Its major districts include Kameido, Kiba, Kiyosumi, Monzen-nakachō, Shirakawa, and Toyosu. The waterfront area of Ariake is in Kōtō, as is part of Odaiba.

Etymology

"Kōtō" (江東) means "East [of the] River" in Japanese. The tō (東) in Kōtō means "East" and is the same character as the Tō in Tokyo (東京).

Geography

Kōtō occupies a position on the waterfront of Tokyo Bay sandwiched between the wards of Chūō and Edogawa. To the North, its inland boundary is with the Sumida special ward. Much of the land is reclaimed, The northern part is old reclaimed land, and the elevation is very low (below sea level). The southern part is relatively new, but there are few old temples or shrines. Noteworthy places in Kōtō include:

History

The western part of the ward was formerly part of Fukagawa Ward of Tokyo City. It suffered severe damage in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, and was heavily bombed during World War II. The special ward was founded on March 15, 1947, by the merger of the wards of Fukagawa and Jōtō.

Districts

There are 45 districts in Koto:

Transportation

Rail

Highway

Air

Economy

Companies with headquarters in Koto include Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores, Ibex Airlines, Fujikura, and Maruha Nichiro. Sony operates the Ariake Business Center in Kōtō. The broadcasting center of WOWOW is in Koto. Seta Corporation was headquartered in Kōtō.

Government

The main city office for Kōtō City is located in Toyo. There are branch offices located in Shirakawa, Tomioka, Toyosu, Komatsubashi, Kameido, Ojima, Sunamachi and Minamisuna.

Notable places

Education

Colleges and universities

Primary and secondary schools

Public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education. Public elementary and middle schools are operated by the Koto City Board of Education. Combined junior and senior high schools: Junior high schools: Elementary schools: Private schools:

International schools

International schools are independently owned and operated.

International relations

On April 20, 1989, Kōtō became a sister city of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Notable people from Kōtō