Japan Press Weekly

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2008 March 12 - 18 [POLITICS]

Transport minister promises to stop research for 6 highway-bridges

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Fuyushiba Tetsuzo has promised that the government will stop research for the construction of six highway-bridges, including one crossing Tokyo Bay.

He made the remark on March 12 at the House of Representatives Committee meeting in response to a question by Japanese Communist Party representative Kokuta Keiji.

JCP representatives, including Kokuta, have so far used their questioning-time to press the government to cancel the reckless construction plans, and Fuyushiba has promised to examine whether these plans are appropriate.

In its tentative report published on March 7, the ministry said it had decided to dissolve by March 2010 the Japan Bridge Engineering Center, which had been awarded a contract of more than 500 million yen for research during FY 2005-FY 2007, on at least 15 projects.

JCP Kokuta said that the ministry should take the highway-bridge projects off the government’s National Spatial Planning agenda.

Minister Fuyushiba said, “I would like to consider the matter carefully.”

The plan to construct six highway-bridges is part of the controversial 59 trillion yen government plan to construct national highways using money from the gasoline tax in the next 10 years. The construction of the Tokyo Bay Bridge “Aqua Line” alone cost 1.4 trillion yen.
- Akahata, March 13, 2008