Houses of Parliament (The House of Councilors)

The National Diet Building was built in 1936, and after the 70th Imperial Diet Convention was held in the building on December 24 of the same year, it started to be used as a conference hall by the Diet members. Since then, the law-making politics in Japan has centered around this place. The building has 3 floors above ground and 1 floor underground. The windows and ceilings of the central hall and the House of Councilors hall are mounted with stained glass and are elaborately made. There are also many areas that draw attention to the particular details of the construction, such as the mosaic floors that were created from more than 10 different kinds of marble stones and the oil paintings of the four seasons. The value of the building itself is also high. The 460 seats in the House of Councilors hall are arranged in a semi-circular pattern, and, in principle, people are free to observe, on a ”first come, first serve” basis, any plenary session that is held there, provided that they have admission tickets. Anyone can visit the building on weekdays. However, an advance booking is required for group visits of 10 or more people. The National Diet Building is a 3-minute walk from the Exit No. 1 of Subway Nagatacho Station or a 6-minute walk from the Exit No. 1 of Subway Kokkai-Gijidomae Station.