Sustainability of the Mitsubishi Estate Group and Society: Four Key Theme
Related Initiatives (Urban development and services)
Related Initiatives (Urban development and services)
Related Initiatives
Fourth Phase of the Chain Urban Renaissance Project in Otemachi Realizing
Future-Oriented Values at TOKYO TORCH
In September 2023, Mitsubishi Estate commenced construction of Torch Tower in the TOKYO TORCH district in front of the Nihonbashi Exit of Tokyo Station, a mixed-use development project that constitutes the fourth phase of the Chain Urban Renaissance Project in Otemachi, which has been an ongoing venture for 20 years. Located adjacent to Tokyo Station, Torch Tower—which will become Japan’s tallest skyscraper at approximately 390 m—features offices and large-scale retail properties in addition to an observation deck, rental apartments, a luxury hotel, and an entertainment hall, with completion scheduled for 2028.
The Chain Urban Renaissance Project in Otemachi started in 2003 as a project integrating a rezoning effort implemented by the Urban Renaissance Agency and urban development led by landowners and business partners to renovate functions in the area, where buildings and urban infrastructure facilities had deteriorated significantly. The project will realize four large-scale mixed-use redevelopment projects over a period of 25 years, including the TOKYO TORCH district.
Guided by its long-term perspective on urban development, Mitsubishi Estate has participated in all four redevelopment phases in capacities that include landowner and business partner. Through its involvement in modernizing buildings; creating vibrancy through the development of retail properties, hotels, and other amenities in the Otemachi area, which was best known previously as an office district; improving aboveground and underground pedestrian networks; and updating and developing urban infrastructure facilities, such as electricity substations, utility tunnels, a sewage treatment facility, data centers, and disaster support facilities, the Company has been central to the ongoing updates of functions throughout the area.
When the project began, 70% of the buildings in the Otemachi area were more than 30 years old. Since then, over half of those have been redeveloped, transforming Otemachi into both an international business center and a vibrant area with a diverse range of functions.
Torch Tower marks the culmination of the TOKYO TORCH district development and the Chain Urban Renaissance Project in Otemachi. In developing this extensive and symbolic district, Mitsubishi Estate will engage in future-oriented measures related to the sustainability of people, the city, and the global environment, developing the functions needed for the future of Japan and the global city of Tokyo to create a new landmark that will illuminate Japan.
Rendering of the TOKYO TORCH district exterior upon completion
View of the low-rise section of Torch Tower from the south side of the district
Marking the 50th Anniversary of the Opening of Izumi Park
Town and Looking Ahead to Its Futur
In 2024, Izumi Park Town (Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture), which the Mitsubishi Estate Group develops and manages, celebrated the 50th anniversary of its opening. The Group began work on this suburban housing development—among the largest urban development projects to be undertaken solely by a private-sector operator in Japan at a total development area of 1,074 hectares and home to more than 10,000 households—in the high-growth period of the 1960s, when there was a pressing need to develop high-quality residential environments nationwide. Through this unprecedentedly large project, the Group realized a new style of urban living in harmony with nature, with the aim of creating a model case to address issues faced by cities.
Development of this extensive site has advanced gradually while incorporating changes in society over time to realize a well-balanced distribution of various functions—such as housing, retail properties, schools, medical facilities, and hotels—and coexistence with nature, establishing the Izumi Park Town brand as a housing development in the suburbs of Sendai that is home to a diverse range of households.
Today, on the 50th anniversary of its opening, urban development at Izumi Park Town has entered a new phase. In May 2019, the town was selected as a priority promotion project under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s Smart City Model Program in response to changes in its environment. Under this program, we are working to address social issues faced by suburban housing developments, with a focus on Asahi, a new district created in 2022. Mitsubishi Estate’s urban development efforts at Izumi Park Town will continue well into the future
Launch of first phase of Takamori sales in 1974
Panoramic view of Izumi Park Town
Further Strengthening of Public–Private Cooperation a Century on from the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923:Holding of the 97th People × City Disaster Drill
In September 2023, the 100th anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake, the Mitsubishi Estate Group held a comprehensive drill centered on the Marunouchi area in preparation for a major disaster through public–private cooperation with the Metropolitan Police Department and the Tokyo Fire Department and with the participation of approximately 2,000 employees. The occasion marked the Group’s first large-scale drill in cooperation with the Metropolitan Police Department in the Marunouchi area. With the aim of enhancing disaster resilience throughout the area in cooperation with customers, employees of tenant companies in the Marunouchi Building and the Shin-Marunouchi Building also took part in the drill.
Mitsubishi Estate’s history of preparing for disasters can be traced back to the Great Kanto Earthquake, when the Marunouchi area—which had avoided damage—became a hub for relief and support efforts for earthquake victims while also accepting the temporary relocation of over 400 entities, including government agencies, banks, and companies, serving as a center for disaster recovery and undertaking the core functions of political and economic activities until Tokyo’s recovery.
Today, the entire Mitsubishi Estate Group has inherited this DNA, establishing policies for responding to disasters and measures to ensure proper and prompt recovery through the Emergency Response Manual, the Disaster Response Manual, and other materials covering the entire Group, in addition to taking preventive measures and holding regular drills. Mitsubishi Estate continues to earn the trust of its customers by offering resilience through safe and secure urban development.
Firefighting drill led by the Tokyo Fire Department at the Shin-Marunouchi Building
Guests offering remarks at People × City Disaster Drill
