The Tokyo Metro (Japanese: 東京メトロ) is a major rapid transit system in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. The system opened in 1927 as the Tokyo Underground Railway, becoming the first subway system in Asia. It is the larger of Tokyo's two subway operators, with an average daily ridership of 6.52 million; the other operator, the Toei Subway, carries approximately 2.85 million passengers per day as of 2023.
Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. is a special company established on April 1, 2004, through the privatization of the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA). Tokyo Metro operates a network comprising 9 distinct subway lines and 11 routes with 180 stations totaling 195.0 km (121.2 mi). Eight of these lines were inherited directly from the TRTA, including the historic Ginza Line which was once operated by Tokyo Underground Railway and the Tokyo Rapid Railway. The ninth line, the Fukutoshin Line, opened in 2008 after the launch of the new private company.
The company has been a member of the Japan Private Railway Association and it is formally recognized as Japan's 16th major private railway company.
Operating exclusively within Tokyo and Tokyo metropolitan area with massive commuter and student populations, Tokyo Metro is positioned uniquely among its peers. The company owns and manages nine essential subway lines, leading all other major private railways in total number of train carriages, railway operating revenue, annual passenger numbers.
Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. was initially wholly owned by the Japanese government specifically the Minister of Finance and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Following a public offering where half of the shares were sold to private investors, the company was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime Market on October 23, 2024. The company was scheduled to be listed on the stock exchange following the opening of the Fukutoshin Line on June 14, 2008. However, after several postponements it was finally listed on October 23, 2024, becoming a public company. Although the company initially aimed for full privatization, even after the 2024 listing, the national government (nominally the Minister of Finance) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government continue to hold a combined 50% of the shares, meaning the company remains a special company subject to the Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. Act.
The proceeds from the sale of the government-owned shares will be allocated to the reconstruction budget for the Great East Japan Earthquake, while the proceeds from the sale of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government-owned shares will be used to fund railway network strengthening projects such as subway extensions for the Namboku and Yurakucho Lines and urban resilience projects like disaster prevention measures.
Among the 23 special wards of Tokyo, only Ōta, Setagaya, and Katsushika lack Tokyo Metro lines or stations. Despite this, Tokyo Metro provides service to all three wards through through-running arrangements with other operators.
History
Early years
The first plan to build a subway in Tokyo dates to 1906, when the Tokyo Underground Electric Railway (東京地下電気鉄道), founded by Momosuke Fukuzawa, applied for licenses to construct lines between Takanawa and Asakusa and between Ginza and Shinjuku. However, the proposal was rejected by the Tokyo City government due to budgetary constraints. In 1915, an underground railway exclusively for mail transport was opened beneath Tokyo Station by the Ministry of Communications.
In 1917, the Imperial Railway Association and the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, acting on commission from the Ministry of Home Affairs, established the Tokyo City and Area Transportation Research Committee (東京市内外交通調査委員会). The committee proposed five subway lines connecting major private railway terminals along the Yamanote Line.
Tokyo Underground Railway era
The origin of Tokyo Metro traces back to the Tokyo Underground Light Rail (東京軽便地下鉄道) which was officially established in 1917. On November 17, 1919, the Tokyo Underground Light Rail was granted licenses with other private railway companies for its proposed sections, Takanawa-Minamimachi and Asakusa Kōen Hirokōji, as well as between Kurumazaka and Minamisenju. In August 1920, the Tokyo Underground Railway (東京地下鉄道) was established by Noritsugu Hayakawa, inheriting the original licenses.
The Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 profoundly altered subway planning. Several private operators abandoned their plans, and their licenses expired by 1924. The Tokyo Underground Railway submitted new applications to build an expanded network, but most were withdrawn or rejected, and some existing licenses expired due to missed deadlines. In 1925, Tokyo City asserted control over subway development and secured licenses for most planned routes, leaving the Tokyo Underground Railway with only Ueno–Asakusa section.
Following a period of preparation, construction on the city's first subway tunnel commenced on September 27, 1925. This section, connecting Asakusa and Ueno stations opened on December 30, 1927. Marketed as "the only underground railway in the Orient," it became the foundation of what is known today as the Ginza Line. Later that year, the line was extended to Kanda in 1931 and to Kyobashi in 1932. Subsequently, the line was extended to Shimbashi Station on June 21, 1934.
Tokyo Rapid Railway
Encouraged by the commercial success of the Tokyo Underground Railway, a group of private entrepreneurs concluded that subway operations in Tokyo could be profitable and petitioned for the transfer of subway construction licenses held by Tokyo City. The city approved the request, and on September 5, 1934, Tokyo Rapid Railway (東京高速鉄道) was established to construct and operate the lines. Although the license conditions required the company’s establishment by the previous year, its founding was delayed due to funding difficulties. Keita Gotō, president of the Tokyo–Yokohama Electric Railway, later joined as a promoter and assumed a central role in the company’s management.
The transferred licenses covered the Shibuya–Tokyo (Marunouchi) and the Shinjuku–Tokyo (Tsukiji). Construction began from Shibuya, where the Tokyo–Yokohama Electric Railway terminated. On November 18, 1938, the section between Aoyama-Rokuchōme and Toranomon opened, followed by the Shibuya–Aoyama-Rokuchōme section on December 20. Due to financial constraints, stations were built to accommodate only three-car trains, leading to operational issues when train lengths increased after World War II. Plans for through service with the Tokyo Underground Railway initially met resistance, but government mediation resulted in an agreement in the mid-1930s. On January 15, 1939, the extension to Shimbashi was completed.
On September 16, 1939, through services between the Tokyo Underground Railway and the Tokyo Rapid Railway commenced via Shimbashi Station, effectively forming what is now the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line.
Teito Rapid Transit Authority era
Under the State General Mobilization Law of 1938, enacted to consolidate transport during the Second Sino-Japanese War, bus and tram services were transferred to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Its establishment was originally conceived as a form of “transportation adjustment,” a system intended to integrate and stabilize transportation operators struggling with competition during the Great Depression. On September 1, 1941, the city's two private subway companies, Tokyo Underground Railway and Tokyo Rapid Railway were absorbed by the newly established Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA).
While most other TRTA organizations were dissolved by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP/GHQ) after Japan's defeat in the World War II, the TRTA was permitted to continue. This exemption was granted because its purpose was recognized as the long-term development of urban transit rather than purely for military objectives. In the postwar era, the TRTA functioned as a unique public corporation, utilizing fiscal investment and loans to fund the expansion of new subway lines. Uniquely for a state-affiliated body, it also joined the Japan Private Railway Association (Mintetsukyo), reflecting its hybrid nature of public mission and private-style management.
In the post-war period, the TRTA operated as a special corporation jointly funded by the Japanese government (initially via the Japanese National Railways, later directly) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, leading to rapid expansion in the post-World War II era, including the construction of key lines in the 50s and 60s like the Marunouchi (1954), Hibiya (1961), Tozai (1964) and Chiyoda (1969) . By 1969, TRTA's network exceeded 100 kilometers, and further growth in the 1970s.
The process for the privatization of the TRTA was initiated by a report from the Temporary Council for Administrative Reform Promotion on June 10, 1986. Following subsequent cabinet decisions in February 1995 and December 2001, the necessary legislation was prepared.
Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. era
The Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. Act was promulgated on December 18, 2002. This act facilitated the transition of the TRTA into a private entity, which officially became Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. on April 1, 2004.
Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd., a joint-stock company majority-owned by national and Tokyo metropolitan governments to enhance operational flexibility and service quality. Significant milestones followed, including the opening of the Fukutoshin Line on June 14, 2008, extending connectivity in central Tokyo, and the start of through-service operations with Sotetsu and Tokyu lines on March 18, 2023, improving regional connectivity. In a major financial step, Tokyo Metro conducted an initial public offering on October 23, 2024, raising ¥348.6 billion (approximately $2.3 billion) through 2.32 billion shares priced at ¥1,200 each, marking Japan's largest IPO since 2018 and signaling confidence in its role serving an average of 6.84 million daily passengers.
The logo was designed by the British brand consultancy agency Wolff Olins.
Chronology
August 29, 1920 – Tokyo Underground Railway Co., Ltd. is founded.
September 27, 1925 – Construction begins on the Tokyo Subway between Asakusa and Ueno.
December 30, 1927 – Tokyo Underground Railway begins the first subway service between Asakusa and Ueno.
September 5, 1934 – Tokyo Rapid Railway Co., Ltd. is founded.
November 18, 1938 – Tokyo Rapid Railway begins the first subway service between Aoyama-rokuchome and Toranomon.
September 16, 1939 – Tokyo Underground Railway and Tokyo Rapid Railway begin direct through service between Asakusa and Shibuya.
July 4, 1941 – The Teito Rapid Transit Authority is established.
April 20, 1951 – Civil engineering work begins on the Marunouchi Line between Ikebukuro and Shinjuku.
January 20, 1954 – The Marunouchi Line opens between Ikebukuro and Ochanomizu.
March 15, 1959 – The Marunouchi Line opens between Kasumigaseki and Shinjuku, completing the full line between Ikebukuro and Shinjuku.
March 28, 1961 – The Hibiya Line opens between Minamisenju and Naka-Okachimachi.
March 23, 1962 – The Ogikubo Line branch opens between Nakano-Fujimicho and Honancho.
May 31, 1962 – The Hibiya Line opens between Kita-Senju and Minami-Senju, and between Naka-Okachimachi and Ningyocho; through service begins with the Tobu Isesaki Line to Kita-Koshigaya.
August 29, 1964 – The Hibiya Line opens between Higashi-Ginza and Kasumigaseki, completing the full line between Kita-Senju and Naka-Meguro; through service begins with the Tokyu Toyoko Line, and Nishi-Ginza Station on the Marunouchi Line is renamed Ginza Station.
December 23, 1964 – The Tozai Line opens between Takadanobaba and Kudanshita.
October 1, 1966 – Mutual through service begins between the Tozai Line and the Chuo Line at Ogikubo.
March 29, 1969 – The Tozai Line opens between Toyocho and Nishi-Funabashi, completing the section between Nakano and Nishi-Funabashi.
April 8, 1969 – Through service begins between Mitaka on the Chūō Line, the Tōzai Line, and Tsudanuma on the Sōbu Line.
December 20, 1969 – The Chiyoda Line opens between Kita-Senju and Otemachi, with the operating distance exceeding 100km.
April 20, 1971 – The Chiyoda Line opens between Ayase and Kita-Senju; through service begins with the Jōban Line to Abiko.
October 30, 1974 – The Yurakucho Line opens between Ikebukuro and Ginza-itchome.
February 28, 1978 – A Tōzai Line train is derailed and overturned on the Arakawa and Nakagawa bridges due to a tornado.
March 31, 1978 – The Chiyoda Line opens between Yoyogi-koen and Yoyogi-Uehara, completing the line between Ayase and Yoyogi-Uehara; direct service begins with the Odakyu Odawara Line to Hon-Atsugi.
August 1, 1978 – The Hanzōmon Line opens between Shibuya and Aoyama-itchome; direct service begins with the Tokyu Shin-Tamagawa Line to Futako-Tamagawa-en.
December 20, 1979 – The Chiyoda Line opens between Ayase and Kita-Ayase.
August 25, 1987 – The Yurakucho Line opens between Wakoshi and Narimasu; through service begins with the Tobu Tojo Line in Kawagoe City.
June 8, 1988 – The Yurakucho Line opens between Shintomicho and Shinkiba, completing the line between Wakoshi and Shinkiba.
November 29, 1991 – The Namboku Line opens between Komagome and Akabane-Iwabuchi.
April 27, 1996 – Mutual through service begins between the Tozai Line and the Toyo Rapid Line to Toyo-Katsutadai.
March 26, 1998 – Direct service begins between the Yurakucho Line and the Seibu Ikebukuro Line to Hanno.
September 26, 2000 – The Namboku Line opens between Meguro and Tameike-Sanno, completing the line between Meguro and Akabane-Iwabuchi; through service begins with the Tokyu Meguro Line to Musashi-Kosugi.