Tachikawa, city in Japan on east central Honshu Island, in the central part of Tokyo Prefecture, Tachikawa lies on the Tama River, about 32 km (about 20 mi) west of downtown Tokyo. Originally a farming area, Tachikawa has developed into an industrial center and one of the major regional rail hubs in the Kanto Plain. The manufacture of machinery and automobiles is the city's main industry, and an automobile factory and large test track are located in northern Tachikawa. The city also functions as a commuter suburb and is connected to Tokyo's business center by the Chuo Line of the Japan Railways system. The district around the city's main rail station is a crowded shopping center that serves much of central Tokyo Prefecture. Some of the housing in Tachikawa is in the form of large clusters of multistoried apartment buildings, or danchi, that local governments in Tokyo Prefecture built after World War II (1939-1945) to relieve the housing shortage. Tachikawa attained city status in 1940. The city was a center of aircraft manufacturing during World War II. Its airfield became a United States Air Force base after the war and was returned to Japan in 1977. The site, which extends into the neighboring city of Akishima, is now Showa Memorial Park, a popular recreational park commemorating Emperor Hirohito, whose reign (1926-1989) was known as Showa (“enlightened peace”). Population (1999) 160,280.
