A trial for procedural error against the municipality of Tokyo opens this Thursday regarding the reconstruction of a sports area in the Japanese capital. Opposition to the project is supported by several notable figures.
The Meiji Jingu Gaien or “Jingu Gaien”, a vast green space partly dedicated to sports in the Japanese capital is at the heart of the debates. Many Tokyoites oppose the reconstruction of the site and the vast real estate program planned by the municipality. Among the opponents, the composer Ryuichi Sakamoto mobilized on the issue until his death last March.
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The torch has since been taken up by the novelist Haruki Murakami, a regular at Jingu Gaien, who spontaneously took a stand last week during a program, Murakami Radio, which he has hosted regularly for years. “Once upon a time I ran almost every morning around this place“, he explains on Tokyo FM radio. “When I was younger, I always met a girl there who was running in the opposite direction. We didn’t speak, but she was pretty and attractive.”
“I have lots of memories linked to this place and therefore, personally, I strongly oppose this reconstruction project. Once you have broken something, there is no going back.”
Haruki Murakamion Tokyo FM
It is very rare that Murakami gets involved and his influence is considerable.
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77% of Tokyoites opposed to the project
The project plans to rebuild an area of more than 17 hectares in the center of the capital, an area currently occupied by trees secular, a 70-year-old rugby stadium, a 90-year-old historic baseball stadium and various other sites. Murakami is a baseball fan and when he resides in Tokyo, he is always near this stadium where he goes on foot.
It’s about rebuilding everything, supposedly better, with more skyscrapers, but at the cost of many sacrifices, including the removal of a thousand trees. The opposition movement to this real estate project defended by the governor of Tokyo was initiated more than a year ago by the American consultant Rochelle Kopp: “There are a lot of problems in the process, one of them being the environmental impact study. The remarks of a study committee were ignored, even though it had taken care to listen to the inhabitants and there were hopes. But as time went by, he received pressure from promoters.“
“77% of the people of Tokyo oppose this project according to a poll, as well as personalities like Sakamoto and Murakami. Why does the governor of Tokyo persevere? It is a mystery.”
Rochelle Koppat franceinfo
A lawsuit for procedural irregularity brought against the municipality of Tokyo by the movement led by Rochelle Kopp opens this Thursday in Tokyo.