On February 17, Governor Koike gave final approval to the Jingu Gaien redevelopment project, despite calls from many citizens, experts and others to revise the plan and preserve the area’s historic landscape and environment. So our year-long struggle is now entering the next step.
Approximately 60 citizens, including local residents and experts from various fields, submitted a lawsuit to the Tokyo District Court on February 28 to rescind the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s approval of the Jingu Gaien redevelopment plan. I (Rochelle Kopp) am the lead plaintiff.
Links to news coverage can be found in the Japanese version of this update.
The following is an overview of the lawsuit contents, and information on how you can participate either as a plaintiff or a supporter.
The key issues raised in the lawsuit are:
(1) The redevelopment project of Jingu Gaien will greatly disturb the landscape, including the rows of ginkgo trees, and will cause serious damage to the diverse ecosystem and environment of Jingu Gaien.
(2) The environmental impact assessment conducted prior to the approval of the redevelopment project was found to be seriously flawed, with insufficient information disclosure by the developer and false information in the report.
(3) The redevelopment project is made possible by the Tokyo’s Machizukuri (town development) policy. However, the way it is being applied deviates from the laws on urban planning and is thus illegal.
(4) The project will damage the historical and cultural value of Jingu Gaien and cause various harms to the surrounding residents, such as loss of scenery rights, increase in noise, wind damage, and loss of the right to sunshine. In addition, the 13-year construction period will cause long-term inconvenience and disadvantage to residents.
In parallel to the main lawsuit, we have also filed a request for an injunction on further construction while the lawsuit is pending.
Main plaintiffs include the following:
Rochelle Kopp (online petition initiator and management consultant)
Robert Whiting (baseball sportswriter)
Toshikawa Asuka (Professor at Tohoku University, specialist in climate change)
Kohei Saito (Associate Professor, University of Tokyo, economic thinker)
Masayoshi Takeuchi (Architect, Professor at Tohoku University of Art & Design)
Ririan Ono (Fashion model and climate activist)
Hara Yuho (high school student, FFF Yokosuka)
Residents of the Jingu Gaien area
Call for additional plaintiffs
The main lawsuit seeking to overturn approval of the project is open to additional plaintiffs. If you are interested in becoming a plaintiff and want to protect Jingu Gaien, please join us. If you become a plaintiff, you will receive an invitation to plaintiffs' meetings and progress updates. The names and other personal information of plaintiffs will be kept confidential and will not be made public.
We ask that each plaintiff make a minimum contribution toward litigation costs of 5,000 yen. Any amount over 5,000 yen per unit will be considered a donation. Expenses will be used to cover actual costs such as revenue stamp fees, legal fees, and other litigation activities.
Please note, your participation as a plaintiff will be for the period until the first trial decision is rendered in the district court. If you wish to continue to participate as a plaintiff during any appeal, we will ask you to make a new donation to help cover the actual expenses. Please note that if you are not a resident of the neighborhood immediately adjacent to Jingu Gaien, you may be found to be ineligible to be a plaintiff during the course of the trial, based on past judicial precedents.
If you are interested in becoming a plaintiff, please click on the link below to register and we will send you information about how to complete your application.
Call for supporters (donors)
If you are not interested in becoming a plaintiff but would like to support this lawsuit by making a donation, we welcome you as a supporter. Donations received from supporters will be used to cover the costs of the lawsuit and to help raise funds for related campaigns. Supporters will receive progress updates. Donations will be used to pay for the following activities: - Lawsuit-related expenses such as legal fees - Actual expenses such as revenue stamps for plaintiffs' participation - Publicity activities such as holding lawsuit-related events and website management - Other expenses related to the activities.
If you are interested in becoming a supporter (donor), please click the link below to register and we will send you information about how to donate.
Please understand that there may be a slight time lag between the time you register as a plaintiff or supporter, as the secretariat will send you the aforementioned information by e-mail rather than there being an automatic reply.
While we were holding our press conference about the lawsuit on February 28th, Shinjuku Ward approved the developers' application to cut down 3,000 trees. We are considering a lawsuit against Shinjuku Ward to have the approval revoked.
The road ahead may be long, but we will do our utmost to save Jingu Gaien. Thank you very much for your support.