Demonstrate with us tomorrow in Jingu Gaien -- or online via Twitter hashtag if you can't join us in person!
The chopping down of trees at Jingu Gaien is scheduled to begin very soon. The first trees to be cut down will be 30 large ones surrounding the second baseball stadium / golf practice range (which is currently being dismantled). These are huge beautiful trees -- Himalayan cedars, ginkgoes and Japanese stone oaks that are 100 years old.
On Sunday June 25th we are going to have a demonstration at Jingu Gaien, to protest the planned destruction of these trees. We hope to attract enough media attention to force the developers to pause their plans.
Similar to our successful human chain around the National Foundation Memorial Archives Forest in April, we are going to do another human chain, this time around the second baseball stadium.
We will meet at 2 pm, at the Olympic Symbol statue in front of the Japan Olympic Museum. Here’s the exact location on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/z721o1gVFJx3Z7QU6
We will form a single file line, then walk across the street in line and wend our way around the baseball stadium and into position. Then we will join hands to make a full human chain encircling the stadium.
Last time it took 260 people to make a chain around the National Foundation Memorial Archives Forest. The second baseball stadium is larger, so we will need more people. So please join us, and bring as many people with you as you can!
Please wear something green if possible. Also, if you can bring a placard showing your feelings about saving the trees, that would be great! Placards can be in English or Japanese, or both. Let’s make them large, colorful and easy to read. We hope to have press there, and these will be great for photos.
Facebook group for the event is here: https://fb.me/e/36oavZGX5
Twitter hashtag demo
On Sunday the 25th, simultaneous to the human chain event, we will have a hashtag demonstration on Twitter. In the past we have been successful getting hashtags to trend, and this is effective in getting attention to causes. For those of you who are still using Twitter, please schedule a tweet with the hashtag ＃神宮外苑伐採始めないで (don't start chopping down the trees in Jingu Gaien) for 2 pm Sunday Japan time.
Ongoing protests
On Sunday immediately after the human chain, from 3:15 to 5 pm, those interested in participating in these ongoing protests are going to meet at the Tokyo Gymnasium in Meeting Room #3 (in the semi-underground portion of the building https://goo.gl/maps/qMSeyM1PFqirYeZG7 Please join us! (If you are interested but can’t attend on Sunday, please send a Twitter DM to @JapanIntercult and let me know your email address)
We are also planning an ongoing protest in front of the trees this summer, a kind of relay in which there will be at least one protestor present in Jingu Gaien at all times, standing in silent protest to the tree cutting.
Also, on June 29th from 9 am to 1 pm there will be demonstration in front of the lmperial Hotel where the Mitsui Fudosan shareholder’s meeting will be held. We will gather near the Imperial Hotel (close to exit A13) across from Hibiya Park and stand outside to tell shareholders and the public about our opposition to the felling of the magnificent trees in Jingu Gaien. Please come - even for part of the time. Map: https://goo.gl/maps/tARt7AvPAzofHakE6 If you have any questions on the day call: 080-4156-8909
Letter campaign
We are starting a letter writing campaign very soon and need many people to join us to make this successful. We will send details of the recipients and the messages we want to send – also the time-frame of the action.
To take part please send your email address to: morimidoriSJG@gmail.com Title: Letter Blizzard.
We’ll form a google group for easy communication. Please join us in this new action!