Tokyo’s threatened Jingu Gaien park placed on ‘Heritage Alert’ list by conservancy body
By STEPHEN WADE
Associated Press
TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo’s Jingu Gaien park area has been placed on a “Heritage Alert” list by a conservancy body that assesses international monuments and historic sites. The body says the planned redevelopment will lead to “irreversible destruction of cultural heritage” with thousands of trees being felled. The plan approved earlier by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike would let developers build a pair of 200-meter (650-feet) skyscrapers in Jingu Gaien, add a smaller 80-meter (260-feet) tower, fell trees in one of Tokyo’s green areas, and raze and rebuild a historic rugby venue and an adjoining baseball stadium. The park area is renown for more than 100 ginkgo trees that line a long promenade.