World's tallest broadcasting tower Tokyo Skytree opens

22 May 2012 07:42 am

Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest broadcasting tower at 634m, has opened to the public.

The tower, which took three-and-a-half years to build, stands about twice the height of Tokyo Tower, the city's landmark tower since the 1960s.

The main attractions of the needle-shaped structure are two observation decks at 350m and 450m above ground.

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai remains the tallest building structure in the world at 828m.

The Skytree, also double the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, offers broadcasting services across the Tokyo area.

Major broadcasters, including Japan's public broadcaster NHK, will begin using it for transmissions from next year, reports said.

The first observation deck of the Skytree can accommodate up to 2,000 people and the second deck up to 900, said local media reports.

The tower withstood damage from the devastating earthquake that hit Japan in March 2011 during its construction.

The disaster pushed back building efforts by two months, but no-one was hurt and construction was resumed.

The tower is now viewed as a testimony to Japan's earthquake-resistant building technology, as well as a symbol of resilience, local media reports said.

(Source : www.bbc.co.uk)