Inside TOKYO TORCH: The 385-Meter Tower Set to Become Japan's Tallest

A landmark urban development project set to rewrite Japanese architectural history is moving forward at the site fronting Tokyo Station's Nihonbashi exit. Torch Tower — the centerpiece of the TOKYO TORCH development — is slated for completion in 2028. Standing 385 meters tall with 62 floors above ground and four below, it will become Japan's tallest building upon completion. Storm Media recently conducted exclusive interviews with representatives from Mitsubishi Estate (三菱地所) TOKYO TORCH division, identified as Uchikoshi and Niimi, to explore how a parcel of land carrying 130 years of Marunouchi history — once a military site — is being transformed into what developers describe as a next-generation vertical city. （Related： Pixelated in Taiwan, Exposed in Japan: How Two Democracies Draw the Line on Suspect Identity ｜ Latest ）

The project traces its origins to the Meiji era, when Iwasaki Yanosuke (岩崎彌之助), the second president of Mitsubishi, purchased the then-barren former army grounds with a long-term development vision, laying the foundation for Marunouchi's rise as a global commercial hub. According to Mitsubishi Estate, Torch Tower is conceived not merely as a height record but as a multifunctional vertical city. The building will house extensive office space, more than 100 retail outlets, a large multipurpose events hall accommodating up to 2,000 people, and luxury rental residences — the first of their kind in the Otemachi, Marunouchi, and Yurakucho district.

Floors 53 through 58 will house Asia's first outpost of the Dorchester Collection (多切斯特精選酒店), the British luxury hospitality brand. At approximately 300 meters above ground, the tower will feature SKY HILL, a semi-open-air garden terrace designed to expose visitors to natural wind, rain, and greenery — departing from the enclosed format typical of conventional office towers. An observation facility at the building's summit will offer both indoor and outdoor viewing spaces, with sightlines extending to Mount Fuji and the Shinkansen rail network below, which Mitsubishi Estate expects will draw international tourists. The TOKYO TORCH development is also projected to surpass the height of Tokyo Tower in early 2027, and upon full completion will exceed Azabudai Hills (麻布台之丘), which held the title of Japan's tallest building when it was completed in 2023. （Related： Pixelated in Taiwan, Exposed in Japan: How Two Democracies Draw the Line on Suspect Identity ｜ Latest ）

The development is also positioned as a hub connecting Tokyo with regional Japan, embodying what developers describe as the core vision of TOKYO TORCH illuminating Japan's future. An outdoor plaza the size of a football pitch is planned outside the tower, designed as a public park theater for community interaction. The plaza will display koi fish from Ojiya City in Niigata Prefecture and traditional crafts from Fukushima Prefecture. The project also incorporates a circular economy model: food waste from office floors will be converted into liquid fertilizer, used to cultivate rice, wheat, and citrus on partner farms, with the harvests then processed into craft beer and gin for building tenants. The initiative aims to reposition Otemachi — long associated primarily with finance — as a destination integrating commerce, tourism, and culture.

On infrastructure and engineering, Mitsubishi Estate and construction firm Shimizu Corporation (清水建設) held an on-site briefing to present the project's construction scale. To counter long-period seismic motion, the lower floors employ a diagonal bracing frame composed of some of Japan's largest-class structural steel members. Combined with Shimizu's advanced hybrid top-down construction method and 3D measurement technology, the team has addressed a total welding length of 456 kilometers. The building also incorporates high-level disaster resilience: aging underground substations and drainage pump stations have been fully upgraded, and the tower is designed to shelter approximately 4,800 people unable to return home during a major disaster, supported by emergency generators capable of continuous operation for 72 hours and an urban gas cogeneration system. Construction is currently approximately 20 percent complete, with up to 7,000 workers expected on site daily at peak periods. （Related： Pixelated in Taiwan, Exposed in Japan: How Two Democracies Draw the Line on Suspect Identity ｜ Latest ）

Morimoto Akinori (森本章倫), a professor at Waseda University's School of Science and Engineering and the 38th president of the City Planning Institute of Japan (日本都市計畫學會), told Storm Media in a separate interview that attention should not fixate solely on the building's record height. He said the project's true value lies in its integrated design approach linking architecture, urban planning, and mobility. Future urban development, he argued, must create pedestrian-friendly environments that address both residents' need for rapid transit and their desire for leisurely movement for health and recreation. Morimoto noted that Tokyo possesses one of the world's most comprehensive public transit networks, and that combining this with a pedestrian-oriented strategy — treating the Otemachi-Marunouchi-Yurakucho area as a unified platform — would allow Tokyo to compete internationally not on the strength of any single building, but through the overall quality and accessibility of the district as a whole.

As Japan's construction industry faces pressures to modernize, veteran construction technology journalist Ieiri Ryuta (家入龍太) highlighted the significance of digital transformation in his interview with Storm Media. He said that in the face of labor shortages and regulatory limits on overtime, the core of the industry's digital transition lies in eliminating unnecessary movement and inefficiency to boost productivity. He emphasized the importance of Building Information Modeling, which integrates structural, cost, and environmental performance data within a three-dimensional model, enabling early detection of pipeline conflicts, reducing on-site rework costs, and accelerating decision-making. Ieiryu also expressed confidence in the potential for Taiwan-Japan collaboration in the construction sector. He said that combining Taiwan's expertise in semiconductor and high-tech facility construction with Japan's experience in digital model-based design and construction — using modularization and prefabrication to compress project timelines — could create new opportunities for deepening industrial exchange between the two countries and potentially drive exports in the construction sector.

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