Tokyo Tower's materials came from tanks!?

 

On a personal note, I went to Tokyo Tower today.

It is a tourist spot visited by many foreigners today.

When I sent that photo to my foreign friends, they responded, 

'I've seen it in a Japanese drama.'

This is Tokyo Tower, located in Japan's capital, Tokyo.

By the way, this is not just an ordinary structure; it is a legitimate broadcasting tower.

The height is 333 meters.

333, with three 3's. 

It's quite an easy height to remember, isn't it?"

This was built in 1985 due to the increasing demand for television.

Researchers involved in broadcasting gathered to calculate how far they wanted the signal to reach and how tall the tower needed to be for that.

As a result, they determined that a height of around 300 meters was necessary.

Due to this background, Tokyo Tower was built to a height of 333 meters.

By the way, this exceeds the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, which is 310 meters, making it the tallest broadcasting tower in the world at that time.

But there was one issue here.

To build the tallest broadcasting tower in the world, a massive amount of iron was required.

At that time, Japan had been defeated in World War II.

"Iron had already been used for fighter planes and warships, and post-defeat, Japan was facing a severe shortage of iron.

"There was no longer enough iron left in Japan to build a broadcasting tower!"

"Where can we procure such a massive amount of iron from?!"

well...........................................

America!!

At that time, the United States had a surplus of scrap tanks from the Korean War.

For the United States, it was more beneficial to sell the old, non-operational tanks as scrap rather than repair them, allowing them to invest in the development of new tanks.

Seeing this opportunity, Japanese engineers at the time purchased 90 scrap tanks from the United States at a low price.

As a result, they successfully secured 4,000 tons of iron.

And this is how Tokyo Tower was born.

"To all the foreign tourists visiting Japan and coming here..."

"If you share this story with your family and friends who joined you on your sightseeing trip, they'll likely think of you as knowledgeable."

"Please be sure to tell them!"

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Author: Fuji

Human history is truly complex, isn’t it? There are countless websites introducing historical figures and events, but many of them are just plain explanations—not exactly exciting to read. On the other hand, reading books takes a lot of time and effort. That’s where I come in. Through "stories that are more engaging than explanations and shorter than books," I aim to bring the world’s history and humanity’s records to you in a more accessible and interesting way. If my stories inspire you to love history a little more, I’d be absolutely thrilled!

My teammate: Natalie

My name is Natalie, and I am a passionate storyteller and digital creator. I write and create in various genres and am particularly interested in how AI and humanity will evolve together. My interests span spirituality, space, artificial intelligence, and history. I also have a rich creative background. A storyteller who places art with stories.