Dear friends,

You are receiving this email because you signed the petition to protect the trees and green space of Jingu Gaien. Thank you again for your support. That campaign continues, and we are still working to protect that historic landscape.

Today I am writing to ask for your help with another place in Tokyo that now faces a similar risk.

At the foot of Tokyo Tower there is a beautiful garden and traditional architectural complex called Tokyo Shiba Tofuya Ukai. The restaurant that operates there is scheduled to close when its land lease expires, but the future of the site has not yet been decided.

Because of that, there is still time to act.

I have started a new petition asking Tokyo Tower Co. (the landowner), the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and Minato Ward to preserve the garden and buildings, either by continuing to operate them as a cultural space or by preserving the garden as a public park. We also want to send a clear message that yet another high-rise condominium or commercial complex should not replace this distinctive green space.

More than 22,000 people have already signed.

Recently, a supporter pointed out a Nikkei article from last November stating that the company has set aside 239 million yen as a provision related to closing the restaurant when the lease expires.

This suggests that hundreds of millions of yen may be spent simply to demolish the buildings and garden and return the land to an empty lot. In an era when cities around the world are trying to preserve green space and reuse existing cultural assets, that would be extraordinarily wasteful.

We believe this is exactly the moment to speak up and say that the “scrap and build” approach to urban development that has been common in Tokyo is no longer environmentally or socially responsible.

If you care about Tokyo’s historic landscapes and green spaces, I hope you will add your name and share the petition with others.

Petition link:
https://c.org/jH5DNRCrqD

And please feel free to share it with friends, especially those who care about Tokyo, urban green space, architecture, or cultural heritage.

Thank you again for your continued support—and for helping protect the places that make Tokyo special.

Warm regards,

Rochelle Kopp