Tokyo Sky Tree officially completed

Move over, Canton Tower – it looks like the crown for the world’s tallest tower has now been awarded to Japan’s latest megastructure – the Tokyo Sky Tower. Officially completed yesterday, the tower stands at 2,080 feet tall while the previous title holder the Canton Tower in China stands at 1,968 feet. The Tokyo Sky Tree is operated by Tobu Railways and a consortium of media companies, which is fitting since it will serve as a digital terrestrial broadcasting center for Tokyo and the surrounding Kanto region.

With the one year anniversary of the earthquake of 2011 coming up, one can’t help but wonder if the Tokyo Sky Tree will be able to withstand such disasters were it to happen again. According to the engineers who worked on the tower, it is said to be able to withstand even the strongest of earthquakes thanks to its design that features a central column which acts as a stationary pendulum to counterbalance seismic waves. Hopefully we won’t have to put it to the test to find out. Check out the timelapse video of the tower being built: