Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Around 100 environmental activists gathered on the forecourt of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building on Sunday to protest against the planned destruction of more than 3,000 century-old trees in order to build sports facilities and commercial properties in central Tokyo.

The planned renewal of the Jingu Gaien district near the Olympic Stadium will see new sports facilities rise to replace Jingu Stadium and Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium.

But it will also require uprooting many trees in the area and “Save Jingu Gaien”, a protest group led by American Rochelle Koop, aims to stop the redevelopment and save the trees.

The avenue of ginkgo trees is one of the most famous in Tokyo, especially in autumn, and it is threatened by redevelopment construction that was decided before the Olympics.

On Sunday, Japanese supporters dressed in green held up placards and banners in front of Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building calling on the government to roll back the plans.

The district’s urbanization plan was approved by Tokyo Governor KOIKE Yuriko, and when composer SAKAMOTO Ryuichi sent a protest letter to the town hall before his death, Koike declined to have any responsibility for the project and invited the musician to approach the private companies involved in the project. Sakamoto died on March 28.

With local elections set for April 23, the activists of Save Jingu Gaien, hope that those opposed to the felling of the trees will have an impact at the ballot box.