New Port City

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New Port City (新浜市, Niihama-shi?) is a fictional metropolis depicted in Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell series. The main setting of the various GitS stories, New Port City is located on the north side of Osaka Bay in the fictional Niihama prefecture (新浜県) next to Kobe, Port Island, and Rokko Island. In Ghost in the Shell and Stand Alone Complex, New Port City is the capital of Japan and one of the locations used by the Japanese Army. It should be noted that there is a real Niihama in Japan that is very different from New Port City.

The opening lines of voice-over in the 1995 anime Ghost in the Shell establish the setting as New Port City. In this film, the city's visual style is modeled upon Hong Kong; characters seen on signs are in Chinese, rather than Japanese. The television series Stand Alone Complex keeps the city's name but changes its appearance. (In the second episode of the second season, much of the city resembles the New York of Taxi Driver, but that entire episode was an homage to that movie.) The city houses most of Japan's politicians, business leaders and industrial workers.

In Niihama prefecture, Niihama grew to immense size. Section 9 calls Niihama City home. It is also the location of the very well known Nihima University and the Niihama School of Medicine and Dentistry Medical College where the Nano Manufacturing Department resides.

Newport is a constructed Island, built off the Shinhama ward of the Tokushima Prefecture. Newport City became a major city for trade, international relations and foreign affairs. The city was built in the early part of the millennium when issues of space started arising. There was generally not much of an urban metropolis in the Tokushima area before the port was opened in the 1990s. The area prospered, and its residents grew exponentially. In the early 2000s work began on the floating metropolis that is now known as Newport City. The city has become one of the thriving new metropolises of the new millennium. Although New Tokyo and Osaka are still very important cities in Japan, Newport City has become the significant international city. Major international corporations have their headquarters here, and many political conferences are now held here instead of in New Tokyo. As for the city's geography itself, it is built in an almost fortress-like fashion. The biggest corporate towers loom ominously in the center of the floating section, while thousands of smaller buildings surround them. An inner waterway surrounds the middle section. This waterway branches off into smaller canals that wind around parts of the city. The second ring is made of up large shipping piers (which are equipped to handle the largest sectional cargo ships) and warehouses. The rest of Shinhama, which is on land, is known as "Old Town." The northern areas of Tokushima are more spread out, and it is here where you find large estates and traditional pagoda style architecture.

There are many mega-highways that lead to the floating section; unfortunately, once you are on the island it is nothing more than a hindrance to drive a car. Newport City is very dense and heavily populated, so the best ways to get around are by the elevated train system, the electric busses or by boat (provided you are going somewhere on the canal).

Notable sites and locations[]

The following are notable sites or locations in New Port City.

Dejima Island[]

Dejima Island is an artificial island in Nagasaki Bay that was a Dutch trading post during Japan's self-imposed isolation (sakoku) of the Edo period, from 1641 until 1853. At the time of Ghost in the Shell, the island is occupied by refugees following the 3rd and 4th World War.

Institutions[]

Government[]

Japanese Naval Base - is one of the naval bases used by the Japanese government.
Japan Self-Defense Forces.

Prime Minister - Japan's Head of State (Yoko Kayabuki as of 2nd GIG).
Diet of Japan.

House of Councillors - is the upper parliament house used by the Japanese government. (speculated, but not canon)
House of Representatives - is the lower parliament house used by the Japanese government.

Cabinet - see entry Cabinet of Japan.
Ministries - see entry Ministries of Japan.
Niihama Prefecture Police (新浜県警) - Like the current capital Tokyo, Niihama does have a Metropolitan Police Department (警視庁), under the command of a police superintendent general. However, the MPD is mainly responsible for administrative role similar to the National Police Agency (警察庁) and the law and order in New Port City is primarily maintain by the Niihama Prefecture Police. The NPP's SWAT teams are frequently called to assist in Section 9's operation.
Chinese Embassy - is the Chinese embassy located in New Port City. In Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG, the embassy was infiltrated by a terrorist group called the Individual Eleven.

Agencies[]

Cabinet Intelligence Service - is the American Empire-funded organisation set up in Japan to monitor the actions of the Japanese government and Section 9.
Public Security Section 9 - is an intelligence department set up by the Japanese government to counter terrorism.
Public Security Sections 1, 4 and 6 - see entry Other Fictional Organizations.
Motoko's hiding places.

Institutes[]

Spring-8 Radiation Research Institute- an institute located in New Port City that conducts research on the Japanese nuclear program.
National Library - is the New Port's library that mostly consists of cybernetic information instead of books.

Tourism[]

New Port City International Airport - is New Port City's international airport.
New Port Hotel - is one of New Port's famous hotels. The building is located in the heart of the city and overlooks the Dejima region.
Expressway - is the major highway running through New Port. The expressway connects the city with Tokyo and Dejima.
Dejima Bridge - is a bridge that connects New Port City with Dejima Island. During the Dejima refugee rebellion in 2nd GIG, the bridge was brought down in order to prevent JSDF forces from entering Dejima.

Entertainment[]

Geisha House - is the one of the most prestigious Geisha houses in New Port City, as such it is very popular amongst the higher echelons of New Port's business life, a frequent visitor being Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Ishikawa Arcade - One of the most popular Virtual Arcades in New Port City. Ishikawa secretly uses the brains of its patrons for distributed computing.

Businesses[]

Serano Genomics - is the one of New Port City's major micromachine companies.
Megatech Body Co. - is a cybernetic body manufacturer. In the 1995 film Ghost in the Shell, Major Kusanagi's and the Puppet Master's bodies were created by Megatech.