Several updates here on the Jingu Gaien redevelopment project situation, and two opportunities for you to get involved!

Topics in this update:

* Mitsui Fudosan's insensitive remarks spark anger

* Good article in Toyo Keizai magazine

* More deceptive statements from Governor Koike

* Suspicious rule revision from the Japan Association of Athletics Federations

* Deadline tomorrow! Call for public commentators on the environmental assessment

* Another deadline coming up! Qualify to ask questions at the shareholder meeting

* Petition progress

Mitsui Fudosan's insensitive remarks spark anger

On March 24, a meeting of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Environmental Impact Assessment Committee was held to discuss the Jingu Gaien area redevelopment project.

The chairman of the committee, Professor Toshiaki Saito of Nihon University, said, "The reason why there are so many objections and opinions from residents is because we don't know the specifics of the project. Please disclose as much detailed data as possible.” In response, the representative of Mitsui Fudosan simply replied, "It is difficult to provide details.”

Furthermore, the representative of Mitsui Fudosan made a shocking statement that has upset many people, "After we chop down the trees, we’ll make the wood into souvenirs, or mulch and compost.”

How dare they think the people of Tokyo are stupid enough to think we’ll be satisfied by their using the trees for compost or mulch! And we don’t want souvenirs. What we want is for the trees not to be cut down.

At the meeting the committee members also made various unusually harsh comments about the plan. This is proof that our voices are being heard.

Good article in Toyo Keizai magazine

On March 24, Weekly Toyo Keizai published an article titled "Meiji Jingu Outer Gardens, Will Cutting Down 1,000 Trees be Permitted to Go Forward?”

This article is very helpful because it explains the background and key points of the redevelopment of Jingu Gaien in an easy-to-understand manner. As the article states, the plan was pushed forward without proper notice to the public, and as a result people are feeling shocked when they find out about plans to chop down 1,000 trees.

More deceptive statements from Governor Koike

At her regular press conference on Friday, March 25, Governor Koike was asked about the plan to cut down trees in Jingu Gaien.

Her answer was simply a repetition of the dodges she had given at the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly meeting on March 9.

The list of problem areas in her comments is as follows:

* She claimed “the 4 rows of gingko trees will be preserved.” However, a huge baseball stadium is going to be built very close to the ginkgo trees and may cause damage their roots. Also, the positioning of the wall will alter the atmosphere of the area, and 18 of the gingko trees will be chopped down.

* Koike said that the city will request "careful handling" by the companies carrying out the work, but no matter how "careful" they are, chopping down trees is still chopping down trees.

* Vague words like "we will continue to keep the aspirations of the creators of the park alive" are meaningless. Koike mentioned "Eiichi Shibusawa and others" who were involved in the founding of Jingu Gaien, but I don't think they would be pleased with the cutting down of trees and the elimination of sports facilities used by the public.

* Koike said, "First of all, we will transplant the trees," but transplanting giant trees is technically very difficult, and they have not yet clarified where they intend to transplant hundreds of trees.

* Koike said, "we’ll make it a development that reflects the wishes of the people of Tokyo," but she approved the plan knowing that not only did it not reflect the opinions of the people of Tokyo, but also that many objections were raised and ignored.

* Koike’s statement "the amount of greenery will be increased" is complete sophistry. The plan map considers lawns and low plantings as being equal to giant trees that have lived for 100 years. So although the square footage of greenery may be increased, the volume of greenery will go down, to say nothing of the quality of the greenery.

Governor Koike's statements also ignore the fundamental fact of the Jingu Gaien redevelopment plan: ceding the park area to private companies in order to create high-rise buildings and large-scale commercial facilities will result in the loss of open space. And in a domino effect from ceding space to these edifices, the public service facilities currently in the park such as the softball fields and batting practice range will disappear, and many trees will be cut down to make way for an expensive members-only tennis club that will be available only to a limited number of people. No amount of pretty words can hide that fact.

Suspicious rule revision from the Japan Association of Athletics Federations

If the Jingu Gaien redevelopment plan is implemented as is, the relocation of the tennis courts to the plaza in front of the Picture Gallery will leave no land for an auxiliary sub-track at the new National Stadium. This would mean that international track and field events would no longer be able to be held at the new National Stadium. However, on March 23, it was announced that the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) had suddenly amended its rules, stating that "an athletic stadium that has hosted the Olympic Games may be designated as a Class 1 certified athletic stadium even if it lacks an auxiliary sub-track.” We can only assume that this was done in a desperate attempt to smooth the way for the redevelopment plan.

Deadline tomorrow! Call for public commentators on the environmental assessment

As we announced in our last update, a "meeting to hear the opinions of the citizens of Tokyo" on the Jingu Gaien redevelopment project will be held on April 15.

The city is accepting applications until March 28 for "public speakers" who will present their opinions at this meeting.

Details and how to apply are at the bottom of this page. Everyone, please give it a shot!

Another deadline coming up! Qualify to ask questions at the shareholder meeting

Both ITOCHU and Mitsui Fudosan will hold their general shareholders' meetings in June, and shareholders who hold at least 100 shares as of March 31 are entitled to attend and ask questions. If you can afford to invest, why don't you buy shares of these companies and show up at their meetings and ask questions about the Jingu Gaien redevelopment project? This is a very good chance to make your voice heard!

Petition progress

The number of signatures continues to grow and today went over 56,000. I would like to increase the number of signatures as much as possible in preparation for submitting the petition to Mitsui Fudosan, Itochu and the Japan Sports Promotion Center, so please spread the word even further!