Tokyo is the capital city of Japan and the most populated metropolitan area in the world, with more than 35 million inhabitants in 2003.

Tokyo is located at the head of Tokyo Bay, midway along the eastern coast of Honshu, the largest of the four main islands of the Japanese archipelago.

The city occupies most of the southern part of the Kanto Plain, the largest area of flat land in Japan.

Tokyo has been the capital of Japan since 1868, after the Tokugawa dynasty (1603-1867), which ruled from Kyoto, was overthrown. At that time, the city’s name was changed from Edo to Tokyo, which means "eastern capital".

Today, Tokyo is Japan’s financial, industrial, commercial, educational, and cultural center; it is also the country’s principal contact point for trade and diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.