Though these images may look as if they’ve been lifted wholly from the NORAD scenes in the 1980’s classic War Games, they’re actually at the heart of Tokyo’s traffic control center.

This massive traffic nerve center is staffed 24-hours a day, and can show how the city’s traffic is flowing from minute to minute.

(Click on the thumbnails below to launch a gallery of Tokyo Traffic Control Center images, or on the jump to read more.)

The large computer screens on the center’s walls show an expressway display, a central display board, and a general information board. These three massive screens offer an overall picture of information compiled by cameras, helicopters, police reports, and over 17,000 vehicle detectors around Tokyo.

From the central information board, operators have access to over 15,000 traffic signals, and can manually adjust the intervals for over 7,000 of those. The traffic center is also able to keep commuters in the loop by sending out live radio reports, and using one of 300 traffic information boards on the roadways.

It's true that you'd have a hard time starting WWIII from this control center, but we think it's a pretty rad workspace nonetheless.

+ CScout Japan: Inside the Tokyo Traffic Control Center