The Meiji Restoration government located its government buildings around the Imperial Palace for the purpose of centering the government on the Emperor (“The History of Kasumigaseki” ).
1870: the Ministry of Finance directed that the various government offices to be concentrated in the location of the former center of the Imperial Palace. However, this construction never began
1873: the Imperial Palace was destroyed by fire, and the government planned to rebuild the palace and construct government offices in the main circle (where current Hibiya Park is located). However, this plan was not started due to the poor quality of the ground. Therefore, they decided to centralize government offices in Kasumigaseki, and formed the basic structure of today’s Kasumigaseki district (“The History of Kasumigaseki”)
1920: the construction of the new Diet Building began
1936: the construction of the National Diet Building was completed
Currently, most of the government offices including the Diet Building, the Prime minister’s official residence, Ministry of Economy, the Diet members’ office buildings, Trade and Industry, Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Finance, and more are located in Kasumigaseki. Therefore it became Japan’s center of the state power.
MU
Demonstrating Space: Kasumigaseki 