Development and Redevelopment of Urban Areas

Urban Redevelopment Policy
The Urban Redevelopment Policy is a master plan that comprehensively systematizes measures forurban redevelopment on a long-term basis, thereby aiming to ensure fair guidance and planned
promotion of redevelopment.
The revised Urban Renewal Act of 1980 has designated urban areas that require planned
redevelopment (Category 1 Urban Areas) and those that should promote integrated andcomprehensive redevelopment and have shown the momentum and activities for redevelopment asredevelopment promotion districts (Category 2 Areas or Quasi-Category 2 Areas), and areas that fallshort of redevelopment promotion districts but are desirable to be developed and expected ofdevelopment effects as redevelopment guidance districts.

Status of formulation of urban redevelopment policies(As of April 1, 2013)

Urban Redevelopment Projects
In existing urban areas, there are, in spite of their urban central locations, many areas that lack
infrastructure such as roads, those that are with low land use efficiency and poor urban environment
due to their fragmented land use, and those that carry disaster risks due to high concentration of oldwooden houses.
As for urban redevelopment, the term “redevelopment” may be used in so broad a sense as to covera case where a landowner promotes construction of fireproof or high-rise buildings by consolidating or
converting land use voluntarily in a personal or corporate capacity. In this regard, various methods areutilized.
It is, however, difficult to promote redevelopment if depending only on voluntary construction
activities in areas where relationships of rights are subdivided or where effective land use cannot bepursued only by private funding. This is not only undesirable for the area but also harmful to the soundurban development.
It is the Urban Redevelopment Project under the Urban Renewal Act that carries out redevelopmentin accordance with certain rules of law by setting forth the development of public facilities (e.g. roads)
and communalization of buildings as a uniform project while restricting individual building
reconstructions.
By developing public facilities (e.g. roads) and sharing land use, the Urban Redevelopment Projectis implemented utilizing the schemes for relaxation of the floor area ratio that allows improvements tothe urban environment, (e.g. designation of high-level use districts) for fundingfor costs required forcommunalization of lands and buildings (e.g. support), and for preferential tax treatment.
By creating floors that exceed those possessed by the original right holders by means of high-level
land use, the costs of urban development projects are to be covered by subsidies as well as funds
obtained by selling those floors (including a piece of land corresponding to the floor).

1 Relationship between City Plans and Projects
Urban redevelopment projects can be implemented within high-level use districts, special urban
renaissance districts or specified district planning districts.
Urban redevelopment projects are divided into two types: Categories 1 and 2.
There are cases where an execution area and other details are set forth as an urban
redevelopment project in a city plan; however, there can be cases where the project is carried out
within the execution area and where the project is not set forth in a city plan. Category 2 projects
are required to be set forth as Category 2 Urban Redevelopment Projects in the City Plan andallowed to be executed only within said areas while Category 1 projects may be executed without
being set forth as Category 1 Urban Redevelopment Projects in the Plan.

Relationship between City Plans and projects

High-level use districts, special urban renaissance districts,
specified district planning districts

What is the specified
district planning district?

City Plans

A district that is designatedUrban
redevelopment
promotion areas

in a district plan, a disasterprevention block
improvement zone plan or a

Urban redevelopment projects
Category 2

roadside district plan, andCategory 1that the matters to be
decided in terms ofCategory 2

Projects

TMG
Municipalities
Redevelopment
companies
Urban
RenaissanceAgency, etc.

Category 1

Category 1

high-level use districts areset forth in a district

All executors

City planning projects

Individualexecutors only

improvement plan while
restrictions on it are set
forth in the Ordinance.

Non-city planning projects

2 Requirements for the Urban Redevelopment Project Areas Designated in City Plans
In setting forth urban redevelopment projects in the City Plan, Category 1 Urban
Redevelopment Project areas must fall under all the requirements (a) to (d), and Category 2
Urban Redevelopment Project areas must be 0.5 ha or more, and fall under all the requirements(a) to (d) and any one of (e), (f) or (g).
(a) The project is to be carried out within high-level use districts, special urban renaissance
districts or specified district planning areas.
(b) The ratio of fireproof buildings except old, low-rise, under-used and small-size ones is about
one third or less to all the buildings.
(c) The land use status is unsound due to matters such as lack of public facilities (e.g. roads)
and fragmentation of land use.
(d) Ensuring of high-level land use will contribute to improvement of urban functions.
(e) The district is a populated urban area that is dangerous in case of disasters or have faultyenvironment.

(f) The area is in need of urgent development of important public facilities (station squares,disaster-prevention parks, roads, etc.)(g) The area is an urban Disaster Recovery Promotion Area

Types of Urban Redevelopment Projects
The difference between Category 1 Urban Redevelopment Projects and Category 2 Urban
Redevelopment Projects are as follows.
1 Category 1 Urban Redevelopment Projects
Category 1 Urban Redevelopment Projects are executed by the method called right conversion.
The right conversion is a method of equivalent exchange between rights (original assets) such as
the ownership, lease right and rented house right of land and building prior to the project
execution and a right to land and building after the project execution (resultant assets = entitledfloors).
Among building floors that are constructed by the project (including pieces of landcorresponding to the floors), floors that exceed entitled floors are called reserved floors that aresold to obtain the funds to cover the costs of launching a project.
In addition, those who do not prefer the right conversion may make a request to that effect,
thereby obtaining compensation from the project executor to move out to another place.
2 Category 2 Urban Redevelopment Projects
Category 2 Urban Redevelopment Projects are executed by the method that project executors
purchase land and buildings within the project areas. Only local governments, redevelopment
companies or the Urban Renaissance Agency are entitled to become executors.
If the right holders intend to live or run business within the area, floors equivalent to his/her
original assets will be guaranteed by making an advance request for obtaining floors of a building
to be constructed within the area.

System of right conversion (in case of Category 1)＜Before＞＜After＞
Reserved floor
Ｘ

Rentedhouse

ＢＤ

Ｄ

Buildingownership

Buildingownership

ＡＣ
Rented land

ＣLandownership

Ｂ

Land ownership

Ａ(（(Ａ借ＤＣ（（Co-ownership(借家 Ａ, Ｂ, Ｃ and Ｘ
between家Executors of Urban Redevelopment Projects
In the following are the executors of urban redevelopment projects; the relationship betweenexecutors, and types and areas of projects to be executed is shown in Relationship between CityPlans and projects.
1 Individual executor
A landowner, or a land lease right holder or a group of them, within the project area may
become an executor or executors by preparing the constitution and the project plan, obtaining
unanimous consent of right holders within the area and permission for execution from theprefectural governor.
Those other than right holders within the area may also become executors by obtaining
unanimous consent of right holders within the area.
2 Urban Redevelopment AssociationIf the founders composed of at least five landowners or land lease right holders within theproject area have prepared the articles of incorporation and the project plan, and obtained
consent of at least a two-thirds majority of landowners and land lease right holders within saidarea, and if the right area of consenters constitutes at least two-thirds of the total right area, thenthey may become executors by obtaining the authorization from the prefectural governor andestablishing a partnership.
3 Redevelopment companies
If business corporations and limited liability companies that share a two-thirds of the parcel area
within the project area and hold more than half of voting rights have prepared the articles ofincorporation and the project plan and obtained consent of a two-thirds majority of landowners
and land lease right holders within said area, and if the right area of consenters constitutes two
thirds or more of the total right area, then they may become executors by obtaining theauthorization from the prefectural governor.
4 Local governments
TMG and municipalities may become executors by obtaining the project approval from theMinister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and the prefecturalgovernor, respectively.
5 Urban Renaissance Agency, etc.
The Urban Renaissance Agency and the Tokyo Metropolitan Housing Supply Corporation may
become executors by obtaining the project approval from the Minister of MLIT.
6 Others
There are members participating in the Urban Redevelopment Association and specified
architects who carry out the project in cooperation with the above executors through the provision

of funding or technology to them.

Urban redevelopment projects undertaken by the metropolitan government

Two urban redevelopment projects of the metropolitan government are currently underway: theUrban Facilities Redevelopment Project, which develops essential urban facilities such ascity-planned roads and promotes intensive use of the land in surrounding areas, is being implemented
in two districts, and the Urban Redevelopment Project Related to Disaster Reduction, currently
implemented in one district, aims to create disaster-resistant communities by developing evacuation
areas and routes, and also improving the living environment.
While promoting the steady progress of these projects, the vitality of the private sector is employedthrough such programs as the designated builder system.

Urban Facilities Redevelopment Project<Kita-Shinjuku District>Despite being located on the northwest side of the Shinjuku sub-center, the Kita-Shinjuku district
had many narrow roads as well as fractional residential areas. As such, the renewal of buildings was
not progressing and the land was not being put to effective use prior to the commencement of theproject.
To resolve this, a project is underway to develop city-planned road Radial Route 6 and thesurrounding concentration of low-rise buildings together and make the transition to land-use befittingof the Shinjuku sub-center area, with the aim to enhance the area’s level of disaster resistance and theliving environment (project period: FY1998 through FY2014).

Ring Road No. 2 and the Shimbashi/Toranomon District>
In order to respond to the requests of rights holders, who wished to continue to reside at the same
location, the system for integrated development of roads and buildings has been employed in thedevelopment of Ring Road No. 2 in the Shimbashi and Toranomon districts. By placing the main line ofRing Road No. 2 underground, allowing the space above and below the road to be used for building
construction, a building is under construction in Block III.
Construction of the underground portion of Ring Road 2 (the main line) is advancing as a Tokyo
Metropolitan Bureau of Construction road project, with the above-ground portion of the project
advancing as part of the redevelopment project (project period: FY2002 through FY2014).

Urban Redevelopment Projects Related to Disaster Reduction<Kameido, Ojima, and Komatsugawa district>
One of the largest redevelopment projects in Japan is underway in the vast area (approx. 98.6 ha.)of the Kameido/Ojima/Komatsugawa district, which straddles Koto and Edogawa wards. The district issituated on relatively soft soil, has a high population concentration, and has been vulnerable todisaster. Therefore, with the aim to build a disaster-resistant community, the development of adisaster-reduction base has been promoted under the Basic Plan for Redevelopment of the Koto
District established in 1969,in order to develop evacuation areas and evacuation routes, as well as

to improve the living environment and provide a stable supply of housing (project period: FY1979
through FY2017).

Urban development undertaken by the private
sector and others
Private organizations or “associations” established bylandowners and leasehold owners undertake numerous land
readjustment and urban redevelopment projects in many
districts in Tokyo.
The metropolitan government is responsible for approving
the plans of such projects, and offers necessary guidance aswell as financial and technical support for the smooth
implementation of the projects.
It also takes a supervisory position in approving the land
readjustment and urban redevelopment projects undertakenby the municipalities and in the execution of subsidies granted
from the central government to these projects.
The Kachidoki 6-chome project was implemented by a private redevelopment company establishedand financed by landowners and leaseholders.
In the Otemachi district (Chiyoda Ward) and the Minato 2-chome district (Chuo Ward), integrated
urban redevelopment projects are being carried out within areas designated for land readjustment
projects.