The War brought other unwanted changes to the neighborhood. The city, swollen with war workers needing shelter, was forced to permit the overcrowding of existing structures. The result was an accelerated deterioration of the area's housing and commercial facilities which, in turn, created a seriously blighted area. This, however, qualified Japantown for postwar urban renewal assistance.

Early in 1960, San Francisco embarked on a pioneering program which included the razing of a five-acre, three-square-block section of Japantown--the area bounded by Geary, Post, Fillmore, and Laguna Streets--to make way for the Japan Center (originally known as the Japanese Cultural and Trade Center).

In the Fall of 1960, the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency agreed to sell the three-square-block parcel to a single-purpose corporation Japan Center formed by a Japanese American group from Hawaii to create and develop the Japan Center.

Nearly eight years later, the project was completed thanks to the unified efforts of the developer and two outstanding Japanese business enterprises. One of the organizations -- Kintetsu Enterprises Co. of America, a subsidiary of Kintetsu Corporation of Japan -- is still the Center's key anchor. Kintetsu owns and manages the deluxe Miyako Hotel, and the Kintetsu and Miyako Malls, both of which house shops and restaurants. Kintetsu also owns and manages the Best Western Miyako Inn which is located in Japantown one block north of the Center.

Other Japan Center owners include:

• Kinokuniya Book Stores of America, the largest Japanese bookstore chain in the U.S. and a subsidiary of the largest bookstore chain in Japan.
  
  
• Kinokuniya owns the Center's Kinokuniya Building, a two-level shopping/dining mall, and the shop-lined Webster Street Bridge connecting the Kinokuniya Building with the Kintetsu Mall;
  
  
• American Multi-Cinema, Inc. (AMC).
  AMC owns the building at the west end of the Center which houses the Kabuki Cinema, Kabuki Springs and Spa, and Pasta Pomodoro restaurant.
  
  
• Union Bank of California.
  The bank owns the portion of the Center which houses its Japantown branch and retail space above the branch.

The Japan Center formally opened in March 1968 with much fanfare highlighted by the first annual Cherry Blossom Festival. With the Center's opening, Japantown came into its own as an ethnic showcase in the cosmopolitan tradition of San Francisco.