Redeveloping Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu Gaien Area: The Metropolitan Government’s City Planning Runs Amok

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May 27, 2025

Redeveloping Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu Gaien Area: The Metropolitan Government’s City Planning Runs Amok
Redeveloping Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu Gaien Area: The Metropolitan Government’s City Planning Runs Amok

Volume 23

Abstract: The landscape of the Meiji Jingu Gaien area of Tokyo is famous; it has a gingko-lined avenue and various sports facilities, including national stadiums and facilities used by ordinary citizens. The large-scale redevelopment of this area has been planned and implemented on the basis of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s district plan in 2013 in the wake of Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games. This paper examines the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s actions since the formation of this plan, mainly on the basis of the Metropolitan Government’s official documents and Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly minutes and considers their implications.

Keywords: Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Meiji Jingu Gaien, City Planning, Deregulation-Oriented Urban Redevelopment

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Volume 23

About the author:

Junichi Hasegawa teaches in the Faculty of Economics at Keio University. He has written books and articles on British and Japanese urban history during and after the Second World War, including Replanning the Blitzed City Centre and Urban Reconstruction in Britain and Japan (with Nick Tiratsoo).

The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus is a peer-reviewed publication, providing critical analysis of the forces shaping the Asia-Pacific and the world.

    About the author:

    Junichi Hasegawa teaches in the Faculty of Economics at Keio University. He has written books and articles on British and Japanese urban history during and after the Second World War, including Replanning the Blitzed City Centre and Urban Reconstruction in Britain and Japan (with Nick Tiratsoo).