The governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, has called for the creation of a Tokyo film office to assist film-makers shooting in the Japanese capital.

Tentatively called the Tokyo Location Box, the new office is set to open next spring. Speaking at the Tokyo International Film Festival, Ishihara said the Tokyo government needs to ease red tape and otherwise provide more support for film-makers.

Film offices already exist in Hokkaido, Yokohama and Osaka, but Tokyo remains the most popular location in Japan. However, city police and other officials have long been less than co-operative with location shoots, leading to complaints from even the most prominent Japanese filmmakers.

One of the most vocal critics, Akira Kurosawa, shot several of his films on the barren slopes of nearby Mt. Fuji partly to escape red tape.

Ishihara, the brother of screen icon Yujiro Ishihara and a popular novelist whose work has inspired several hit films, is more sympathetic than his predecessors to the film industry's needs. He's even said that he hopes to see car chases being filmed on the streets of Tokyo.