Developers Begin Cutting Trees in Tokyo's Meiji Jingu Gaien

Tokyo, Oct. 28 (Jiji Press)--Japanese real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan Co. and others on Monday started cutting down trees as part of their redevelopment plan for the Meiji Jingu Gaien area in central Tokyo.

Mitsui submitted a revised plan for the project, including a reduction in the number of trees to be removed, to the Tokyo metropolitan government last month following opposition from residents concerned about its environmental impact.

The metropolitan government told an environmental impact assessment panel on Oct. 21 that it has accepted the revision. Then, Mitsui said it intended to begin cutting down and transplanting trees this month.

Under the revised plan, 619 trees will be cut down, fewer than the 743 under the former plan. The distance between a row of ginkgo trees, the symbol of the Meiji Jingu Gaien area, and a planned new ballpark will be expanded to improve the ginkgos' growing environment.

The Japanese arm of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, or ICOMOS, an advisory panel to UNESCO, has criticized the redevelopment project for insufficient scientific research and called for a further review of the plan.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]