Photo/Illutration Members of the Japanese National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) hold a news conference regarding the redevelopment of the Meiji Jingu Gaien area on Sept. 24 at the Tokyo metropolitan government building. (Naoki Nakayama)

A panel of experts working for cultural preservation criticized the developers' new plan to cut fewer trees to redevelop Tokyo’s leafy Meiji Jingu Gaien district as just focusing on the number.

“It only takes into consideration the number of trees and lacks consideration of the ‘quality of the greenery,'” said the Japanese National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) at a news conference on Sept. 24.

On Sept. 9, Mitsui Fudosan Co. and other developers announced a revised plan that includes canceling the felling of 124 of the 743 trees over 3 meters tall that were scheduled to be cut down.

The developers also said it will hold a briefing session for residents on Sept. 28.

The Japanese ICOMOS group, an advisory body to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said it submitted a written request to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike asking to express its opinion at the Tokyo metropolitan government’s environmental impact assessment council.

Mikiko Ishikawa, a board member of the ICOMOS group, said the revised plan did not present a concrete plan for transplanting trees.

“There is no consideration of the problems of shadows and heat caused by the construction of high-rise buildings,” she said.

Ishikawa added, “We have made requests to the Tokyo metropolitan government nearly 30 time, but have not received a response. There is a lack of public consultation.”

In September 2023, the Japan ICOMOS body issued a "heritage alert" on concerns over the redevelopment of Jingu Gaien. 

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