Critics of Tokyo redevelopment plan accuse city government of ignoring residents' wishes

TOKYO — Critics of the planned redevelopment of a beloved centuries-old Tokyo park and historic sports stadiums accused the government in court on Thursday of ignoring the wishes of residents and catering to commercial interests.

A total of 59 plaintiffs, many of them longtime residents, filed a lawsuit in February against the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to stop the project, which would build skyscrapers and new stadiums and bulldoze hundreds of trees in the Jingu Gaien green district. Their lawyer said the project's impact assessment did not adequately consider its effect on the environment and on health and living conditions.

The plan, approved earlier this year by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, has become increasingly controversial. Followers of baseball and rugby oppose it, as well as conservationists and civic groups who say the project has advanced without transparency or adequate environmental assessment.

The Tokyo government has “never sincerely faced our opinions" and rushed the project without sufficient discussions with the public, plaintiff Rochelle Kopp, a longtime resident, said in a statement at the first hearing of the case Thursday at Tokyo District Court.

“I'm puzzled and outraged by the way the redevelopment plan has been decided and approved in the absence of Tokyo residents and other people, and pushed through,” she said.

The Jingu Stadium ballpark and a neighboring rugby stadium used for soccer during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics would be demolished under the plan. The new stadiums will be surrounded by two nearly 200-meter (650-foot) -tall office buildings in a commercial complex.

The project is scheduled to take 13 years to complete, but minor construction has already begun and initial tree cutting is to begin Friday.

Yoshio Kondo, the head of a neighborhood residents’ association and a plaintiff, said he never received an adequate explanation of the project from the Tokyo government or the developers despite repeated requests.

“The nice scenery that everyone enjoys now will be destroyed in the name of ‘creating a vibrant town,’” Kondo said.

Author Haruki Murakami, who has written that he was inspired to become a novelist while watching a game at Jingu Stadium and has a favorite jogging path nearby, said on his monthly radio program on Sunday that he strongly opposes the redevelopment plan. Musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto wrote a letter to Koike urging her to reconsider the plan just before he died in March.

Over the weekend, hundreds of people protested at the redevelopment site.

The dispute comes about two years after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, which used several newly constructed stadiums and has since been sullied by bribery scandals.

Koike said the metropolitan government handled the environmental assessment appropriately and urged the companies involved to share information with the public about the development plans.

Dozens of people lined up for tickets to enter the courtroom for the first hearing Thursday. One of them, Motoko Sakuma, said she moved to the area 20 years ago because of the park.

“We will lose greenery just at a time when the world should be adding more greenery for the global environment,” she said. “I also have problems with the decision-making process that involves only politicians and vested interests."