In the original 1954 film, Godzilla was scaled to be 50 meters tall (164 feet). In the 2014 American film, Godzilla was scaled to be 355 feet tall (108 meters), and weighing 81,500 metric tons (89,838 short tons). To encourage tourism, in April 2015 the central Shinjuku ward of Tokyo named Godzilla an official cultural ambassador. The character has remained important in Japanese pop culture and history. Now, Shinjuku, which has a population density of about 17,000 people per square kilometer in a high concentration of skyscrapers, granted citizenship to Godzilla. As reason for special residency in this certificate, they wrote: “Promoting the entertainment of and watching over the Kabuki-cho neighborhood and drawing visitors from around the globe.” To mark the arrival of its newest resident, the Shinjuku City Office distributed 3,000 copies of Godzilla’s certificate to delighted fans on Saturday.A replica of Godzilla was placed on top of the district’s iconic Toho building.
