In 1896 only 31 years after Japan restored the Imperial System in 1868 under His Majesty the Emperor Meiji, the Imperial Government of Japan approved of a plan to construct a new station, later named as "Tokyo Station" when it was opened on December 20, 1914.
The openings of major railway systems after Tokyo Station was opened had helped the surrounding areas develop into the commercial center of Tokyo. However, U.S. forces executed infamous indiscriminate bombings in Tokyo by dropping incendiary bombs, killing hundreds of thousands of the innocent civilians, most of whom were non-combatants such as babies, children, women, the aged, etc. One major bombing executed on May 25, 1945 that also used incendiary bombs, a few of which hit Marunouchi exit, caused a major fire and then destoryed everything except main structures.
"Hundreds of thousands of lives were suddenly and deliberately ended by evil, despicable acts of atrocity. B-29 bombers flying at very low altitude above Tokyo, dropping incendiary bombs and napalms on the innocent civilians.
Exploding -- not only burning a huge -- a huge number of houses but also suffocating and incinerating a huge -- a huge number of humans have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and unyielding anger. It was just a huge -- a huge gas chamber and a huge incinerator --the largest ever created in the history of mankind. It was just intended to demonstrate their superiority over the Asian races. But they failed. Many Asian nations gained independence from the white ruled nations after the war.-Ted Yokohama."
After undergoing a number of restoration efforts, a full-scale restoration project was envisaged by the Government of Japan in 1988 and was finalized in 1999. The final restoration project started in 2007 and it will be fully completed in 2013. It will be officially opened on October 1, 2012. Restoration cost is JPY 50 billion, equivalent to USD 0.641 billion if calculated at the exchange rate of 77.987/USD.
Below is a video of an event called "Tokyo Station Vision" held on September 22, revealing a restored Tokyo station to the public by showing images of Tokyo station from its inception. Visit Tokyo Station Vision
Note: Japan's first railway system was opened in 1872, connecting Shinbashi to Yokohama only 4 years after Japan restored the Imperial System in 1868 under His Majesty the Emperor Meiji. One has to remember that Japan achieved her modernization without getting free assistance similar to ODA (Official Development Assitance) or anything else from the western powers. No such a system as ODA and others existed when Japan embarked upon her modernization. The western powers were trying to colonize Japan. In short, everything that came to Japan from the west was fully paid or often overpaid for by Japan.
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