Photo/Illutration Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu Gaien district is known for its ginkgo trees, shown in left background. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Developers are set to begin felling trees and transplanting others as early as this month for a controversial project to redevelop Tokyo’s leafy Meiji Jingu Gaien district.

Mitsui Fudosan Co., which represents a four-party consortium, outlined the schedule on Oct. 21 after environmental impact assessment procedures on the project were completed.

The Tokyo metropolitan government’s Environmental Impact Assessment Council met the same day to discuss the developers’ revised plan to cut down fewer trees.

The session ended without major objections from the council members.

The project calls for rebuilding Meiji Jingu Stadium, an approximately 100-year-old ballpark, and Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium and erecting two skyscrapers by 2036.

The felling of trees has been postponed for about a year in the face of fierce criticism over the large number of tall trees to be cut down.

The Tokyo metropolitan government has also called on developers to submit concrete measures to preserve the trees.

At the Oct. 21 council meeting, the developers explained plans to cut down 124 fewer trees by altering the size of the new rugby stadium and through other changes.

They also presented methods to transplant trees and secure daylight for the plant life.

One member called for consideration to secure space and preserve ecosystems, saying that reducing the number of trees to be felled was not the only goal.

The developers said they will regularly report on the conditions of trees and other issues at council meetings.

The Tokyo metropolitan government said there is no need to conduct another environmental impact assessment.

“We recognize that there is no risk of (the revised plan) making a marked impact on the environment,” a metropolitan official said.

However, Mikiko Ishikawa, director of the Japanese National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), has said the revised plan has not given due consideration to the “quality of greenery.”

The committee has criticized the project and issued a Heritage Alert to call for the conservation of cultural heritage at risk. 

ICOMOS is an advisory body to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The three other parties in the consortium are Meiji Jingu shrine, the Japan Sport Council and Itochu Corp.

Developers originally planned to cut down 743 of the 1,904 existing 3-meter-or-taller trees and transplant 275 others while newly planting 837 trees, according to Mitsui Fudosan.

Under the revised plan announced in September, the number of trees to be cut down has been reduced by 124, including 66 that will be maintained where they stand and others that will be transplanted elsewhere within the area.

As additional new trees will be planted, the number of tall trees will increase to 2,304 after the redevelopment, according to the revised plan.

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