World's "Tallest Tower" Opens

On May 22 the Tokyo Skytree Tower opened its observation decks to the public. The world's tallest free-standing broadcasting tower (second to the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building) is located in the city's Sumida/Taito district, as part of developer Tobu Group's Skytree Town (Skytree East Tower is also visible in the photo). The 634-meter (2,080-foot) tall tower replaces a shorter one, after buildings over 200 meters (650 feet) started rising in Central Tokyo, blocking broadcast transmissions. Nikken Sekkei is attributed as architect for the tower, though earlier reports named Tadao Ando as the tower's designer.  jh