environ

Court rules against beltway construction around Tokyo

In a landmark ruling on April 22 the Tokyo District Court said that the construction of a new expressway circling Metropolitan Tokyo be canceled because it will cause unbearable air and noise pollution to residents.

Residents of Tokyo's suburban city of Akiruno in Tokyo and their lawyers issued a statement on the same day, saying, "By upholding our claim, the ruling will encourage all residents who need legal protection against environment destruction. It reflects nationwide criticism of the wasteful major construction works projects, including road construction. The state must withdraw the unwarranted beltway plan immediately."

In the ruling the judge made clear that the decision to expropriate residential land is untenable because the approval of the highway construction is illegal.

The ruling also rejected the state's plea that the beltway, if finished, will ease traffic congestion in the central and suburban areas of Tokyo, adding that it is based only on a wishful thinking without any proof. It also turned down the groundless state argument that the new expressway will serve the public interest.

The government plans to construct a 3-trillion-yen 300 kilometers beltway, but only 30 kilometers have been completed so far. The Koizumi Cabinet and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government under Governor Ishihara Shintaro are pushing ahead with this plan, together with two more loop expressways in Tokyo.

The 300 km plan was first floated in 1984 and became a government plan in 1986. In 2000, the construction minister decided to carry out land expropriation for the beltway's Akiruno Interchange. Akiruno residents filed a lawsuit against this decision in December 2000.

The Expropriation Commission in 2002 decided to expropriate relevant land and residents countered this with a suit. In October 2003, the district court ordered that the execution by proxy of the decision be halted, which was rejected by the high court and confirmed by the Supreme Court last March.

The Japanese Communist Party has always sided with the residents in the struggle against the expressway plan. Suzuki Susumu, one of the plaintiffs was a JCP candidate for the House of Representatives. In the parliament, Ueda Koichiro, Ogata Yasuo, and Iwasa Emi stressed that the plan does not benefit the public.

In Hachioji City, south of Akiruno, citizens have filed a suit calling, "No tunnel for Mt. Takao which attracts millions of hikers a year." The decision is near at hand. (end)