Apologies for a long interval without an update in English.

Last month, after having waited until after the Tokyo gubernatorial election this summer (in which Yuriko Koike who supports the redevelopment plan was elected), the developers finally submitted their plan for tree preservation (that had been requested by Koike a year ago).

The plan purports to reduce the number of trees being cut down, partially through adjustments to the design of the rugby stadium, and partially through what appears to be some fancy sleight of hand with the math. Many trees have been moved from the “to be cut down” to the “to be transplanted”, but no information has been given on where they are going to be transplanted to, or how they will be transplanted. The baseball stadium is being moved 10 meters further from the trunks of the westernmost row of gingko trees, which is indeed good news for the trees but might lead to reduced outfield seats in the stadium as it and its accompanying large hotel are wedged into an even tighter space. So while on one hand it seems that raising our voices has had some positive impact, the basic design of the redevelopment – tearing down and rebuilding two historic stadiums, felling large numbers of trees, and building huge skyscrapers that will tower over the area – is unchanged and is still deeply problematic. Overall, this revised plan is clearly designed to “look like we’ve done something” while not addressing the fundamental concerns of experts and the public about the project.  

Given, however, that the changes to the plan are significant, our assumption was that this would result in the project being sent back to the environmental assessment committee for another review, as would be usual and proper in such a situation. Furthermore, recall that the previous environmental assessment of the project had been criticized as severely lacking by UNESCO’s International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) (both the Paris HQ and the Japan Committee), the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, the Japan Branch of the International Association for Impact Assessment, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, and numerous Japanese scholars and experts. Taking the revised plan back to the committee to do a proper assessment would have been a way to recognize these concerns and rectify the situation.

However, in a meeting this past Monday, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government did not request a re-assessment, and instead opined that the project does not have a significant environmental impact (!).

It’s very disappointing that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is ignoring the opinions of international organizations and experts, and the concerns of citizens, and is steering the whole process in a way that is favorable to the developers. It is very unfortunate that important democratic process of environmental impact assessment is not functioning properly in Tokyo.

After the meeting, the developers immediately applied to the Shinjuku Ward office for permission to begin cutting down trees. They seem to be moving as quickly as possible and may begin felling trees within this month.

There will be a demonstration between noon and 1 pm today in front of the Shinjuku Ward office, asking for Shinjuku Ward to not approve the application.

Also, there will be a previously planned event on Saturday afternoon, sponsored by Commons Net, an organization that I am co-leader of, which brings together groups working to protect green spaces across Japan. It’s a walk/parade starting in Jingu Gaien (next to the Shake Shack) at 2 pm and walking to Hibiya Park. The choice of Hibiya Park is because it also is undergoing a radical and damaging transformation which will involve cutting down a huge number of trees, under the auspices of Mitsui Fudosan, the same company that is one of the Jingu Gaien developers. More details on the walk here (in Japanese):   https://commonsnet.jp/?p=50 Please join us!