Photo/Illutration Residents opposing a condominium building plan hit the streets in Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Nov. 16. (Azusa Ito)

ASAKURA, Fukuoka Prefecture—Following a steady stream of protests, a landowner will likely scrap the last remnants of a plan to build condominium buildings here mainly for foreign buyers, the city government said.

The landowner this month will inform the project developer that it will not cooperate with construction due to the strong local opposition, the city said at a news conference on Dec. 1.

According to the municipal government, the developer revealed plans at a community briefing to construct two 14-story condominium buildings in the Kakibaru district within the premises of a golf course to accommodate 705 people in 290 households.

The makeup of the expected residents was: 40 percent from mainland China; 40 percent from Hong Kong or Taiwan; and 20 percent from South Korea or Japan.

The developer, reportedly part of a corporate group headquartered in China, also said at the briefing that it could expand the project to six buildings.

After word spread about the plan, protests increased on social media from mid-September.

Some called it a “huge condo plan for Chinese.”

Others simply wrote, “We oppose the immigration policy.”

An online petition collected more than 50,000 signatures, calling for the plan to be scrapped.

Some postings falsely said the Fukuoka prefectural government had approved the construction plan.

Protest calls and emails flooded the prefectural government, prompting officials to set the record straight.

“There is no truth to claims that the prefectural government approved the plan,” an official told reporters.

There are also no signs that existing buildings at the project sites are being demolished.

The Asakura city government received about 1,250 protests through phone calls or emails, with many demanding that the municipality block the plan.

Some posts urged, “Let’s take this directly to the mayor.”

As a result, Asakura Mayor Yuji Hayashi canceled his attendance at a local fireworks event scheduled for Sept. 20.

The developer tried to assuage the opposition on its website on Oct. 9.

“The condos will be on sale regardless of the buyers’ nationalities,” it said. “The condo project is not intended to promote immigration.”

The company also reduced the plan from two buildings to one, designed for 164 households.

But the protests did not relent.

On Nov. 9 and 16, local residents staged street demonstrations.

And on Nov. 27, a woman from the city submitted a petition with 2,395 signatures to the city government, seeking a briefing for all Asakura residents.

According to the city government, the landowner is affiliated with the operator of the golf course.

Media reports on Nov. 5 said a representative of the landowner told golf course stakeholders that it would not cooperate with construction of the condominium building.

After the city government asked the golf course company to verify the reports, the operator said the landowner would officially notify the developer by the end of December that it will not cooperate with the construction, according to city sources.

The Asakura government said it would monitor the developer’s actions and ask the company to hold a briefing session for all city residents if the construction plan is not retracted.

According to sources close to the golf course operator, the landowner formed a capital partnership with a corporate group headquartered in China about five years ago.

Both sides shared a mutual interest in developing the unused land at the golf course.

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