Taking its cue from Shibuya, the famous intersection at Oxford Circus shed its barriers and was transformed into a diagonal crossing on 2 November, just in time for the Christmas shopping season. It is said that this will give the 200 million annual visitors around 70 percent more freedom to move around. At the opening ceremony, Mayor of London Boris Johnson said, ¡ÈThis project is a triumph for British engineering, Japanese innovation and good old-fashioned common sense.¡É The ceremony had a strong Japanese flavour, with a taiko drum performance by Joji Hirota¡Çs company and the unfurling of giant red ribbons in the form of a huge X in the middle of Oxford Circus by ¡Ècosplayers¡É, or devotees of cult Japanese Manga characters dressed in colourful costumes. Many dignitaries attended the ceremony, with Minister Sumio Kusaka representing the Embassy of Japan.
The event was covered widely by the media in both the UK and Japan.
