April 13, 2012

A group of residents of Sagamihara City in Kanagawa Prefecture on April 12 submitted to the city mayor a petition urging him to reconsider the plan to construct a new bullet train line called Chuo Shinkansen using maglev technology.

The petition opposes an agreement reached by the mayor and the governor of Kanagawa Prefecture to build a station of the Chuo Shinkansen near Hashimoto Station in the city. The petitioners expressed their indignation with the mayor for his deciding to go ahead with the construction plan without considering a wider range of views.

The petition also pointed out 9 problems concerning the plan. One of them is that the mayor gave no explanation for the possible influence of electromagnetic waves on human health and the environment.

Asaga Kimie, representative of the citizens’ group, said, “The mayor is responsible for ensuring public safety and creating a more comfortable and safe environment for future generations.” She demanded that the authorities examine if the “economic effect” that they expect to be generated by the plan will be beneficial for people’s everyday lives.

Japanese Communist Party member of the city assembly Fujii Katsuhiko participated in presenting this petition.