If we compare the Tokyo’s tallest buildings with the skyscrapers from other countries, most probably they won’t impress much: the tallest building from Tokyo is only the 145th in the world, with a height of 248 meters, while the tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa, 828 meters. (update: not counting the 634 meters Tokyo Sky Tree, which is a tower, not a building).
However, the Japanese have the merit of having built skyscrapers in a country where strong earthquakes are frequent.
Shinjuku skyscrapers, view from Sunshine 60
Contrary to what most people believe, the skyscrapers are relatively new in the history of Japanese architecture. This was mainly because of a law that was forbidding the construction of buildings taller than 31 meters, law changed only in 1963.
The first modern skyscraper in Japan, the Kasumigaseki Building was finished in 1968 and it is 156 meters tall, twice the height of the tallest building until then, the New Otani Hotel.
Then, in the 70’s, the construction of tall buildings grew at a fast pace.
Here is the Top 10 of the tallest buildings in Tokyo:
