Godzilla named Tokyo district's tourism ambassador

TOKYO, April 10 (UPI) -- Godzilla, the movie monster famous for attacking Tokyo, now has a permanent home on one of the city's skyscrapers and was named a district tourism ambassador.

A 40-foot-tall sculpture of the giant lizard's head was installed on the commercial complex in the Shinjuku shopping and entertainment district, and district Mayor Kenichi Yoshizumi named Godzilla as Shinjuku's official tourism ambassador in a ceremony celebrating the construction's completion.

The complex that became Godzilla's new home was formerly a theater owned by Toho, the company that owns Godzilla's rights, and a Toho executive was on hand to accept the residency certificate from Yoshizumi.

"Until now Godzilla has been simply destroying, but we hope it will now contribute to the prosperity of Kabukicho and Shinjuku," said Minami Ichikawa, head of Toho's movie division.

The complex, which features the Godzilla head on the eighth floor, is scheduled to officially open April 17. The height of the head was designed to coincide with the height of the monster from the first Godzilla film in 1954. The building contains a hotel that offers a room with a Godzilla hand jutting through the wall.

The sculpture is designed to broadcast Godzilla's iconic call at an unspecified time each night along with a sound and light show to mimic his radioactive fire breath.

Yoshizumi said he hopes Godzilla completely destroys Shinjuku during his next cinematic appearance to bring luck to the district in the real world.