New Sony building in Tokyo's Ginza district completed; to open 2025

The newly completed Ginza Sony Park, a renovation project on the former site of the iconic Sony Building in Tokyo, was unveiled to the press Friday, with the new complex promising to be a modern space that carries on the vision of its predecessor.

Scheduled to open to the public in January, the new building stands five stories high with four basement levels, covering a total floor area of approximately 4,390 square meters. Based on the concept of a "park in Ginza," it features numerous open spaces, including an atrium, to create a sense of openness.

Some of the original walls from the Sony Building, which opened in 1966 based on Sony Corp co-founder Akio Morita's vision that "a meaningful building should be constructed as the gateway to Ginza," have been incorporated into the basement floors of the redesigned building.

After operating for around 50 years as a showroom for Sony products, including the revolutionary Walkman portable music player first released in 1979, the original building was torn down in 2017 for redevelopment. The final phase of the renovation project was completed on Aug 15.

"We want to create a place where (visitors) can spend time as they wish," said Daisuke Nagano, president of Sony Enterprise Co, the Sony subsidiary leading the project.