It’s been 61 years since Godzilla took his first giant steps into cinema history. Now the country he has terrorized for generations has embraced the “King of the Monsters” as one of their own. The Tokyo ward (district) of Shinjuku has officially made Godzilla a resident of Japan.
Also, in a special ceremony, a large sculpture of the Big Green Guy’s head was built on top of the Toho cinema complex naming him a tourism ambassador to the area. Check out the video!
Godzilla is one of the most easily recognized film characters on the planet. His likeness has made billions of yen for the Japanese economy. For his contribution to Japanese society, Shinjuku Prefecture awarded him a special plaque of appreciation and granted Godzilla official residency papers. Although the ceremony took place in April, the Shinjuku ward office is handing out copies to the first 3,000 Japanese fans who want proof. Check it out!
Translation:
Name: Godzilla
Address: Shinjuku-ku, Kabuki-cho, 1-19-1
Date of birth: April 9, 1954 [the year of the release of the very first Godzilla film]
Date of becoming a Shinjuku resident: April 9, 2015
Reason for special residency: Promoting the entertainment of and watching over the Kabuki-cho neighborhood and drawing visitors from around the globe in the form of the Godzilla head built atop the Shinjuku TOHO Building.
Previous visits to Shinjuku Ward: three times; Godzilla (1984), Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Godzilla 2000 Millennium (1999.)
Currently, Godzilla is more popular than ever and is in high demand. Not only does he have another Hollywood film coming out in June of 2018, but Toho Co. creators are producing another movie in the growing Godzilla franchise, which will debut sometime in 2016.
Sources: msn.com, animenewsnetwork, IMDb