TOKYO (AP) – The Japanese bar association is urging Tokyo’s metropolitan government to suspend a disputed redevelopment of the city’s beloved park area, saying that its environmental assessment by developers lacked objective and scientific grounds.
The metropolitan government approved the Jingu Gaien redevelopment project in February of 2023 based on the environmental assessment submitted by the developers, allowing the start of construction.
The plan involves razing a famous baseball stadium and rebuilding it, as part of a vast construction project that critics say would threaten thousands of trees in a city of meagre green space. Hundreds of outside experts, including architects, environmentalists and academics, have demanded the suspension of the project in open letters and petition campaigns.
The developers are the real estate company Mitsui Fudosan, Meiji Jingu shrine, Itochu Corp and the government-affiliated Japan Sports Council.
In the latest opposition to the project, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations issued a statement on Thursday in which the lawyers group said the environmental assessment lacks sufficient data and used erroneous research methods.
