[Ota Ward] Interview with Ota Ward Mayor and Staff on the Charm of the Town: Aiming to Become the Number One City for Child-Rearing

Ota Ward is home to Haneda Airport, the gateway to Tokyo, serving as both Tokyo's entrance and a window to the world. It has the largest area among Tokyo's 23 wards, with a population of approximately 740,000, and a significant number of foreign residents, making it a ward with diverse facets.

In terms of natural environment, Ota Ward faces the Tama River and Tokyo Bay, offering numerous locations to enjoy waterfront scenery.

There is Omori Furusato no Hamabe Park, the only seaside park managed by a ward in Tokyo's 23 wards, Heiwano-mori Park, one of the largest in the ward, and Senzokuike Park, a designated scenic spot by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Despite being in an urban area, green spaces are scattered throughout. We aim to further promote the ward's charm by connecting these with "historical town development.".

The ward also boasts rich historical and cultural resources. These include the Omori Shell Mound, considered the birthplace of Japanese archaeology, and burial mounds such as Kamekozan Kofun and Horaisan Kofun in the Tama River basin. Furthermore, there are many historical sites that evoke the past, such as the Magome Literary Village, where many writers and artists resided, the Katsukai Shu Memorial Museum, and the Ryushi Memorial Museum.

Industrially, Ota Ward is nationally known as a "city of manufacturing." It is home to a concentration of small and medium-sized enterprises with advanced technologies, playing a crucial role in supporting Japan's manufacturing sector.

In this way, Ota Ward is a highly attractive ward, a "microcosm of Tokyo," possessing diverse charms including internationality, natural environment, history, culture, and industry. We aim for further development by leveraging these resources.

Ota Ward's new Basic Concept, the highest-level guideline for the ward's ideal state around 2040, was formulated in March 2024. This Basic Concept serves as a common goal for everyone involved with Ota Ward. We have set the vision for Ota Ward around 2040 as "Ota Ward: A Smiling Town Where Hearts Find Peace and Futures Take Flight." This embodies the aspiration for a town filled with smiles, where everyone can live with peace of mind and thrive with hope for the future.

Ota Ward has a strong desire to focus on the child and child-rearing fields, considering it the top priority of ward administration. We must create a town where children born and raised in Ota Ward can continue to live here permanently.

By promoting the comprehensive child-rearing support policies and the ward's attractions, and encouraging people to spend their leisure time at attractive facilities and spots within Ota Ward, we believe they will feel inclined to say, "I want to continue living here," and "I want to raise my children in Ota Ward.".

To achieve this, creating an environment where children and child-rearing families are supported by the community and society as a whole is crucial. Providing seamless support under such an environment is also a unique initiative characteristic of Ota Ward.

We aim to create a town where everyone, from children and young people to the elderly, can "continue to live" and a "number one city chosen by child-rearing families." We will build a town that is attractive to our residents, where everyone can live healthily and comfortably.

Ota Ward formulated a new City Promotion Strategy in March 2025.

The brand message is "Give Wings to Excitement."

This message conveys the desire to make the daily lives of our residents "exciting" through the proposal of Ota Ward's unique "five lifestyles."

In addition to excellent transportation and living convenience, we are promoting town development that enhances the child-rearing environment for the future generation, and culture and arts that enrich daily life. This aims for a town where residents have affection and pride for their community, and everyone can live healthily and happily (well-being).

Ota Ward aims to be a "town where people always want to live" and the "number one city for child-rearing." We are disseminating our charm and potential with the hope that people can find their ideal lifestyle here in Ota Ward.

Ota Ward, aiming to be the "Number One City for Child-Rearing," is working to provide seamless support for child-rearing households and create diverse safe and secure spaces for children.

At each stage from pregnancy to adolescence, various programs are offered, including the "Postpartum Housework and Childcare Assistance Program (Niko Niko Support, Piyo Piyo Support)" and the "Family Attendant Program," ensuring seamless support that leaves no child or child-rearing family behind.

Furthermore, Ota Ward has abundant children's spaces, with many children's centers and after-school clubs utilized by numerous child-rearing families. In children's centers and facilities for infants and toddlers, parents and young children can relax, and easily consult about childcare concerns and anxieties.

In addition, child-rearing support facilities are established throughout the ward, making it a great attraction of Ota Ward that there are ample places for parents with young children to casually visit and safe places for children to play after school or on holidays.

In terms of education, Ota Ward promotes unique international education to foster global human resources who will lead "International City Ota," and develops practical communication skills in English.

Additionally, to cultivate the ability to live creatively in an unpredictable future, the ward's unique subject, "Ota's Future Creation," is fully implemented in ward elementary schools, aiming to foster "creative qualities and abilities."

Ota Ward is a town with an international airport, Haneda Airport, which serves as Japan's gateway to the skies. It also boasts excellent transportation access within Tokyo, with 10 railway lines including JR, Keikyu, and Tokyu lines, and 43 stations, ranking among the highest in Tokyo.

Furthermore, Ota Ward has the most shopping streets and public baths (sento) in Tokyo, making it a distinctive town rooted in the community, always brimming with vitality and warmth.

Additionally, there are 218 neighborhood associations (jichikai/chokai) in the ward. Through various activities, these associations foster exchange and fellowship, nurturing bonds among residents who can help each other in times of need, allowing people to live with a sense of connection. Children grow up energetically and freely under the watchful eyes of the community.

Moreover, numerous events are held in cooperation with local residents, such as the Ota Children's Garden Party and the OTA Fureai Festa, enjoyed by many, from children to adults.

Ota Ward has over 500 parks, the highest number among Tokyo's 23 wards. Despite being in an urban area, it offers abundant lush nature. There is Heiwano-mori Park, one of the largest in the ward and popular for its field athletics, and Heiwa-jima Park, which has a campground where visitors can stay overnight. Young children can play freely in neighborhood parks, and on holidays, families can enjoy themselves in large, nature-filled parks a short distance away.

The ward also faces the Tama River and Tokyo Bay, offering many places to enjoy waterfront scenery. The Tama River riverside is popular as a walking course, allowing families to stroll while enjoying nature. Every year, the Peace Memorial Fireworks are held, enjoyed as a seasonal tradition of Ota Ward.

Furthermore, Ota Ward possesses rich regional resources in terms of history, culture, and art. Within the ward are valuable historical buildings and cultural assets, such as Ikegami Honmonji Temple, which houses a National Important Cultural Property, the Ryushi Memorial Museum, registered as a Nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Buildings), and Senzokuike Park, a Tokyo Metropolitan Government Designated Place of Scenic Beauty.

Experiencing history, culture, and art in daily life allows residents to enjoy unique experiences and hobbies not found elsewhere, which is another significant charm of Ota Ward.

UniqueOta / Unique Ota