<h3><span class="strongInContent">Akasaka&#8221; is the No. 1 town where presidents live&#8230; The reality of &#8220;Minato-ku,&#8221; a bizarrely dense area</span><span class="strongInContent"> </span></h3>
<p> In Minato Ward in central Tokyo, one out of every six residents is a president. According to a survey conducted in May of this year by credit research firm Tokyo Shoko Research, presidents prefer to live in central Tokyo where they can enjoy the convenience of the city, and the trend toward work-life proximity is continuing. The population of Minato-ku was approximately 267,000 at the beginning of this year, and the ratio of presidents was 16.5%.</p>
<p> Minato Ward is home to a variety of lush green areas despite its central location, including the Akasaka Imperial Palace, where members of the Imperial Family live, and the Aoyama Cemetery in the Aoyama district.</p>
<p> A closer look at this &#8220;Where the President Lives&#8221; survey reveals that &#8220;Akasaka, Minato-ku&#8221; has the largest number of presidents living in the city, with 4,596. This is followed by &#8220;Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku&#8221; with 3888, &#8220;Roppongi, Minato-ku&#8221; with 3559, &#8220;Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku&#8221; with 3382, and &#8220;Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku&#8221; with 3364, and the names of places in Tokyo continue to rank 55th on a town and village basis.</p>
<figure id="attachment_447369" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-447369" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="74f83791"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/0bd2291c4e73e8d4054336c86e15e079.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-447369" class="wp-caption-text"> The era of mansions is over!</figcaption></figure>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Are &#8220;mansions in Denenchofu&#8221; obsolete?  The &#8220;Garbage Disposal&#8221; Situation of Wealthy People&#8217;s Choice of Condominiums</span><span class="strongInContent"> </span></h3>
<p> Real estate journalist Junji Sakaki says, &#8220;Presidents of small and medium-sized companies must live in nice places. When borrowing money, they may offer the place where they live as collateral,&#8221; he says. Mr. Sakaki added, &#8220;Presidents of small companies are busy; some of them work 24 hours a day. They cannot live far away for transportation and other reasons,&#8221; he points out.</p>
<p> Yoshihiro Sakata of the Information Department of Tokyo Shoko Research Institute says, &#8220;Akasaka, Minato-ku and other areas have name value, and just living there gives the president credibility. Business partners are also looking at it, and it becomes a status symbol as well.</p>
<p> Mr. Sakata also analyzes that presidents choose locations that are convenient to their clients, financial institutions, and various other business locations. In the past,&#8221; he says, &#8220;locations such as Denenchofu (Ota Ward, Tokyo) were chosen, but nowadays, convenience is more important.</p>
<p> Mr. Sakaki also sees condominiums close to the city center as more convenient than mansions in Denenchofu or Seijo (Setagaya Ward, Tokyo) as the town where the president lives. The condominiums are also more convenient for things like garbage disposal,&#8221; he says, &#8220;because you don&#8217;t have to worry about the city center. The era of living in a mansion is over,&#8221; he says.</p>
<p> Sakaki sees &#8220;Akasaka&#8221; and other areas in central Tokyo as having many old condominiums and small detached houses, and he believes that &#8220;many people have their companies registered where they live. On the other hand, while businessmen tend to focus on train convenience for regular commuting, presidents in &#8220;Minami-Aoyama&#8221; and other areas seem to prefer places with good access to cabs and other vehicles, even if they are some distance away from the station.</p>
<figure id="attachment_447370" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-447370" style="width: 656px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2dfe7b3c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/6097b4768a32a8af1d919f2942053f55.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-447370" class="wp-caption-text"> Tokyo Shoko Research (TSR) analyzes, &#8220;With the development of tower condominiums and commercial facilities, the number of presidents who prefer to live close to their jobs is on the rise.</figcaption></figure>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" What about outside of central Tokyo?"></div>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent">Towns where presidents live outside of central Tokyo</span></h3>
<p> Slightly further away from central Tokyo, Oshima, Koto-ku comes in at No. 20, with 2,300 presidents living there. Mr. Sakata speculates that presidents may live near factories that operate manufacturing businesses and have equipment and other facilities, or near logistics centers for the transportation industry.</p>
<p> Outside of Tokyo, Hayama Town in Kanagawa Prefecture (1644 residents), ranked 56th, and Karuizawa Town in Nagano Prefecture (1215 residents), ranked 115th, stand out. Mr. Sakaki believes that &#8220;there may be many elegant presidents,&#8221; and that not a few of them are not very busy and have money. Mr. Sakata also has the image of presidents in Hayama who have lived here for generations.</p>
<figure id="attachment_447371" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-447371" style="width: 382px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ccd921d0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/6e7390360124db2e1fa8d60b3d4aab60.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-447371" class="wp-caption-text"> Hayama-cho, Miura-gun, in Kanagawa Prefecture, which is popular among wealthy people who enjoy marine sports and has many vacation homes, came in 56th place, the same as the previous year. In Osaka Prefecture, &#8220;Minamihorie, Nishi-ku, Osaka City&#8221; and &#8220;Fukushima, Fukushima-ku, Osaka City,&#8221; where tower condominiums are being built, were ranked</figcaption></figure>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Young people are being eliminated, and the town is full of old people? Fears of &#8220;marginalization&#8221; creeping into &#8220;rich towns</span></h3>
<p> What are the advantages and disadvantages for a community where many presidents live?</p>
<p> Mr. Sakaki says, &#8220;There are no bad things because wealthy people live there. There are many good things,&#8221; he says. The president may be busy, but unlike salarymen, he has the advantage that he can easily take time off even on weekdays and participate in activities such as the community and PTA. In addition, they make a lot of money and pay a lot of taxes to their hometowns, which enriches the local government.</p>
<p> Mr. Sakata also says that municipalities where many presidents live are more likely to increase tax revenues and build various facilities. He expects that the area will be blessed with supermarkets and other facilities necessary for daily life, and will have a good living environment.</p>
<p> On the other hand, he says, &#8220;Prices are likely to be higher than in other areas, and you may not be able to live there unless you have a reasonable income, etc.</p>
<p> Although a town where many presidents live may seem like a good thing, Mr. Sakata expresses concern that young people may find it difficult to live there due to financial difficulties and the aging of the population. It may lack the generational balance of a downtown where various generations live together.</p>
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 Hideki Asai

 Is "Denenchofu" old fashioned? One in six residents of Minato-ku is a company president. What are the reasons for this trend, and the fear of "marginalization" that is creeping into this wealthy town?

Is &#8220;Denenchofu&#8221; obsolete? One out of six residents is a president&#8230; &#8220;The compelling reason&#8221; why wealthy people are rushing to Minato-ku.

Is “Denenchofu” obsolete? One out of six residents is a president… “The compelling reason” why wealthy people are rushing to Minato-ku.

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