Dispute Centered around Redevelopment of Historic Tokyo Park, Stadiums

Dispute Centered around Redevelopment of Historic¹ Tokyo Park, Stadiums

Tokyo's governor is a major supporter of a building project that is raising concerns among sports fans, history fans and environmentalists.

Critics say the redevelopment plan for a public park, that also has sports stadiums, represents a conflict of interest between the parties pushing for it. Those involved include a major Tokyo builder, a religious organization and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.

The dispute is the second involving Koike who also pushed big development projects for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Games were delayed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This time, the project involves a famous baseball stadium and a nearby area for another sport, rugby, in a historic public park known as Jingu Gaien. The stadiums are to be torn down and new ones put up. The project also will make way for two 200-meter-tall buildings and an area for stores.

Conflict of interest

Opponents say the project shows the ties among the main actors: Koike, the developer Mitsui Fudosan, and Meiji Jingu. Meiji Jingu is a religious organization that owns much of the land to be redeveloped.

Like other Tokyo governors, Koike is a member of the Meiji Jingu group of trustees. Hiromichi Iwasa is the former leader of Mitsui Fudosan. He joined Meiji Jingu's group of directors after he took over the company in 2011. He remains² a director of Mitsui Fudosan.

Koichi Nakano is a political scientist at Tokyo's Sophia University. He told The Associated Press (AP) that conflict of interest between businesses and policymakers rarely raises questions in Japan.

The issue has received little attention in Japan's major newspapers. AP sent an email to Koike's office for comment but received no answer.

Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is the 85-year-old former head of the Japan Rugby Football Union. He also was president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing group until he was forced to resign. Nakano and others said Mori was important to the deal.

Nakano said the redevelopment of the park is a public issue. He added, "At the same time, they (politicians) can claim that it is a private decision of a religious organization and the developers."

He said because Jingu Gaien is also a public park with a sports center, politicians get involved with decisions. "Which results in the cozy³, probably collusive relationships among the insiders (who) are unaccountable to the public," Nakano added.

Opposition⁴ to the project

The long-term project will take more than 10 years to complete, but minor⁵ building has already begun. Local people say the project is quietly being pushed through. Activists⁶ have begun legal action to stop it.

The central questions being explored are who controls public space, and does the public have a say? Another question is: Have other plans been considered? Other issues include support for protecting the two existing stadiums and opposition to building close to a 66-hectare park area designed 100 years ago to honor the Meiji Emperor.

Opponents of the development project include sports fans, those who want to protect historical places, and environmentalists. They say Koike has the power to stop the project.

Former Japanese national team rugby player Tsuyoshi Hirao said those who love rugby do not want to destroy the environment in the name of sports.

Hirao heads one of several online petitions⁸ opposing the redevelopment. More than 250,000 people have signed it.

Hirao and others say the rugby and baseball stadiums could be renovated¹⁰. And some people question the need for more tall buildings in Tokyo, especially since the pandemic has caused changes to work methods. The city has more than 50 buildings that are taller than 187 meters.

Some scientists say the project could have damaging effects. They worry about the effects of removing green areas in a dense¹¹, hot city like Tokyo.

Koike also pushed for development over objections from environmentalists and others before the 2020 Olympics. About 1,500 trees were cut down to build the $1.4 billion National Stadium for the Tokyo Olympics.

Almost two years after the Games ended, the stadium is largely unused. It does not have a major occupier and could cost taxpayers¹² a reported $15 million to keep up every year. People involved in the development for the Tokyo Games have faced accusations¹³ of illegal payments and insider deals.

Words in This Story

stadium – n. a very large usually roofless building that has a large open area surrounded by many rows of seats and that is used for sports events or concerts

park –n. a public space that usually has trees and grass and activities for people to do in their free time

trustee –n. a person or member of a small group which has the responsibility of managing the property or money of others

insider – n. a person who belongs to a group or organization and has special knowledge about it

cozy – adj. suggesting or showing a closeness between two people, groups, or businesses

collude – v. to work with others secretly especially in order to do something illegal or dishonest

petition⁷ – n. a written document that people sign to show that they want a person or organization to do or change something

renovate⁹ – v. to make changes and repairs to (an old house, building, or room) so that it is back in good condition

1 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 petition   

n.请愿书，申请书，诉状；v.请愿，正式请求

参考例句：

• Thousands of citizens subscribed the petition.几千名公民在请愿书上签名。
• The number of signers of the petition for a new school snowballed.要求增设新学校而签名的人像滚雪球似的越来越多。

8 petitions   

（许多人签名的向当权者提出某种要求的）请愿书( petition的名词复数 )； 上诉状； 申诉书； 申请书

参考例句：

• Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. 我们屡次的请求，所得到的答复是屡次的伤害。
• Petitions bearing nearly a half-million signatures were sent to the White House. 有将近五十万人签名的请愿书被送到白宫。

9 renovate   

vt.更新，革新，刷新

参考例句：

• The couple spent thousands renovating the house.这对夫妇花了几千元来翻新房子。
• They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。

10 renovated   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He renovated his house. 他翻修了房子。
• The house has been renovated three years earlier. 这所房子三年前就已翻新。

11 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

12 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

13 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。