Architecture
National Diet Building
- Mon
- 08:00–17:00
- Tue
- 08:00–17:00
- Wed
- 08:00–17:00
- Thu
- 08:00–17:00
- Fri
- 08:00–17:00
- Hours
- The visitor reception desk closes at 16:00; admissions may be suspended during plenary sittings.
- Price
- Admission is free.
- How to visit
- The House of Councillors tour is available on weekdays without advance reservation; individual visitors are advised to come after 09:00. English-language House of Representatives tours require an advance email reservation and a passport; photography is allowed in specified areas.
- Hours
- Free entry
- Hours
- Fine in the rain
- Hours
- About 60 min
Why it is worth the detour
The Lockheed scandal became national theater here when Marubeni executives testified before the House of Representatives Budget Committee in February and March 1976. Their denials about coded “peanuts” receipts were later judged to be false testimony, fixing the word “peanuts” in Japan’s political vocabulary as shorthand for covert money.
The National Diet Building is where both houses of Japan's National Diet meet. Completed in 1936, it is an architectural landmark constructed primarily from Japanese materials.
What else is close by
The nearest places we have written up, with straight-line distance from here.
400 m
Prime Minister's Official Residence (Former Prime Minister's Office)
Rebels stormed this 1929 building seeking Prime Minister Okada Keisuke but killed his brother-in-law, Matsuo Denzō, after mistaking him for Okada. The prime minister hid inside for more than a day and escaped among visitors arriving to mourn his supposed death; the historic building was later shifted within the compound and converted into the official residence.
550 m
Sanno Hotel Site
The Sanno Hotel, replaced by Sanno Park Tower, became a principal rebel stronghold after the assassinations and occupation of central Tokyo. Soldiers barricaded themselves in the fashionable hotel while loyal forces gathered outside and imperial orders transformed the self-styled reformers into officially condemned rebels.
600 m
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters Site
Rebel troops occupied the police headquarters beside Sakuradamon early on February 26, temporarily neutralizing the civilian force expected to defend the capital. The police leadership rejected proposals for a direct armed counterattack, leaving the army to suppress its own mutiny.
750 m
Sakuradamon Gate
The 1620s gate of Edo Castle where in 1860 the shogun's chief minister Ii Naosuke was assassinated in the snow.
1.1 km
Hibiya Park
Opened in 1903 as Japan's first Western-style modern urban park, Hibiya became a stage for concerts, demonstrations and mass politics.
Walk it with the stories
This address is one stop among many. Our routes and quests link them into a walk that makes sense on the ground.