April 10, 2014
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2014 April 9 - 15 [ENVIRONMENT]
Lavish construction works for 2020 Tokyo Olympics arouse controversy |
Japan Sport Council, the stadium operater, plans to replace the 54,000-seat stadium with a gigantic 80,000-seat one which will be used as a main venue during the Tokyo Olympics. The council will soon call for bids for the demolition work with a view to have the work started as soon as July.
The citizens group criticizes the new stadium plan by saying that the allotted budget for the construction of the new stadium is 130 billion yen, but the actual cost is estimated to be more than 170 billion yen. They also argue that the new facility will be dangerous in the event of a disaster because its premises are too small to evacuate 80,000 people. In addition, the look of the new stadium will negatively affect the landscape.
The citizens group claims that repair works on the current stadium will be enough to improve anti-seismic and other functions.
The Tokyo Metropolitan government’s plan to construct the Olympic canoeing track in a Tokyo seaside area also faces criticism from environmental advocates.
The Wild Bird Association of Japan and its Tokyo branch on April 8 issued a statement which states, “(Under the current plan,) Tokyo will not be qualified to host the Olympic Games which are supposed to be friendly to the natural environment.”
They had sent Tokyo Governor Masuzoe an open letter regarding this issue last month. It states that the construction of the canoeing competition site in a seaside park will severely damage the habitats for wild birds and other wildlife, and called for an environment-friendly Olympics in line with the spirit of the IOC.
However, the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of the 2020 Olympics Preparation Committee in its letter in reply flatly refuses to change the current construction plan.
The associations expressed their intentions to keep demanding for changes to the construction plans.
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