Oct.26, 2012
Mr. Tsunekazu Takeda, Chairman
Tokyo 2020 Olympic/Paralympic Invitation Committee
Request and Inquiry on the Construction of the 2020 Olympic Canoe Slalom Stadium
within Tokyo Municipal Kasai-Rinkai Park
Dear Mr. Takeda,
This letter represents our sincere request and inquiry related to the construction of the 2020
Olympic Canoe Slalom Stadium in the Tokyo Municipal Kasai-Rinkai Park that is included in
the basic strategic plan of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic/Paralympic Invitation Committee. According
to the website, the Tokyo Municipal Government is currently planning to build a canoe slalom
stadium as part of its effort to invite the 2020 Olympic/Paralympic events to Tokyo. The plan
indicates that the Stadium includes an auditorium for 12,000, with the total construction cost of
1.4 billion yen expected to be invested from public funding sources. We have a vital concern for
the environmental impact that might be caused by this project. However, the current plan open
to the public does not include specific results of any environmental impact assessments, and very
limited information on this issue is available to the public.
The purpose of this request is to support the Tokyo 2020 Olympic/Paralympic invitation
campaign by providing more objective supporting materials on the environmental impact andencouraging the Invitation Committee to disclose information on the decision making process tothe stakeholders. We need to consider the fact that most of the local residents and supporters forthis project do not have sufficient information on the continuing effort to recover the ecosystem
around the Kasai-Rinkai Park/Kaihin Park area for more than 20 years, and they might not beaware of the potential environmental impact from the construction of the canoe slalom stadiumin this area. These days, an environmental impact assessment is a pivotal issue in any public
investment project, and is also a critical factor in obtaining a potential advantage against othercompeting cities in the Olympic invitation campaign. Below is our summary of issues of concern
from the view point of the overall decision making process and environmental impact of thisproject. Your kind consideration of this matter would be highly appreciated.
-Issues of concern:

1.

There are not sufficient opportunities for the local residents and stakeholders to be briefed
and to understand the detailed project plan.

2.

The decision making process for this project is not clearly stated, and we are not sure if
the Invitation Committee is planning to create opportunities to communicate theenvironmental impact to the citizens and/or to environmental experts.

3.

The project plan has a potentially high risk of severe environmental impact

-Our request to the Invitation Committee

1.

Explain in sufficient detail the specific plan for the project to local residents and thebroader public.

2.

Clarify the decision making process for this project and arrange opportunities forcommunicating with the public and /or environmental experts after performing anenvironmental impact assessment.

3.

Reconsider the Canoe Slalom Stadium Construction Project within the Kasai-Rinkai Park
if the results of the environmental impact assessment indicate the potential risk of severe
impact on the ecosystem of this area-Detailed description for above requests

1. Explain in sufficient detail the specific plan for the project to local residents and the broader
public.
According to the official announcement by the IOC, the national support rates for 2020
Olympic Invitation Campaign for Tokyo is only 47%, which is much less than that of theother candidate cities such as Madrid (78%) and Istanbul (73%). One of the major reasonsfor this lower support rate could be the lack of opportunities to explain the overall plan of
the Olympic invitation campaign to the public and stakeholders. The overall planning area
can be viewed in the ‘Invitation Plan’which is downloadable from the Invitation
Committee’s website, but it is hard for readers to find the detailed plan for each project andto develop their opinions on whether they could support the project. It is said that the canoeslalom stadium has to provide 13 m3 / sec of running water, requiring a huge amount offacilities and equipment to be developed. We request that you provide the following
information based on your plan;a.

The overall plan of earth work within the Park in order to develop the difference inelevation for the running water in the canoe slalom stadium.

b.

The drawings of the stadium waterway cross section and your future plans for thewaterway after the 2020 Olympics are over.

c.

The power supply plan for water pumping (electricity consumption and its powersource)d.

The future plan of usage for the canoe slalom stadium with auditorium for 12,000.

All of the above information is required from the viewpoint of environmental impact. If you are
not ready to provide all of the information in detail at this point in time, we strongly request thatyou provide your basic conceptual planning on these issues to local residents and stakeholders.

2. Clarify the decision making process for this project and arrange opportunities forcommunicating with the public and /or environmental experts after performing anenvironmental impactAccording to your website, the general schedule related to the decision making process andpublic communication will be as follows;
January 7, 2013
March 4-7, 2013

Submission of the candidacy announcement documents to the IOC
IOC Evaluation Committee on-site survey of candidate cities

July, 2013

Presentation to the IOC Evaluation Committee

September 7, 2013

The 125th IOC Session (Decision making on the 2020 Olympic Venue)

However, we do not see a clear schedule for public involvement in this process with local
residents and stakeholders that should be performed by the Tokyo 2020 Olympic/ParalympicInvitation Committee. We firmly believe that any decision related to hosting such aninternational sports event should not be made without having adequate priorcommunication with local residents and stakeholders.
The Kasai-Rinkai Park was developed more than twenty years ago. The tideland in the Parkhas been a habitat for a variety of wild birds, water creatures, vegetation, and insects,
providing the local citizens with valuable opportunities to enjoy exposure to nature all theyear around. We request that you ask for environmental expert opinions about the impact of
the stadium construction on the surrounding environment and ecosystems which have been
gradually recovered over the past twenty years. We strongly request that you clarify thedecision making process for this project and arrange opportunities for communicating withpublic citizens and /or environmental experts as soon as you finish the environmental
impact assessment.
3. Reconsider the Canoe Slalom Stadium Construction Project within the Kasai-Rinkai Park if
the result of the environmental impact assessment indicates the potential risk of severe
impact on the ecosystem of this area
We are concerned not only about the environmental impact from construction of the stadium,but also for the facility operation plan after the 2020 Olympics are over. The canoe slalom
stadium requires 13m3 /sec of running water, and the drainage water from the stadium
would affect the salinity balance of brackish water. Although the running water for thestadium might be pumped up and circulated within the area, an unexpected change inpumping and drainage water volume might affect the surrounding ecosystems andgeography of the seabed. We presume that you are already informed of the existence ofdiversified ecosystems around the Kasai-Rinkai Park, through the Letter of Request
submitted by the ‘Wild Bird Society of Japan’on August 23rd. Some of the species witnessedin this area are registered as ’endangered species’by the Ministry of Environment and TokyoMunicipal Government. These ecosystems would be strongly affected by any facility
operation plan after the 2020 Olympics are over. We request that you reconsider the Canoe
Slalom Stadium Construction Project within the Kasai-Rinkai Park if the result of theenvironmental impact assessment indicates the potential risk of severe impact on theecosystem of this areaOur recommendation for alternative candidates for the canoe slalom stadium is as follows;-Use of existing facilities:
Mitake Keikoku (Oume City), Kajima-gawa River Area (Sakura City, Chiba),
Kuriyama-gawa River Area (Katori City, Chiba), Abukuma-gawa River Area (Nihon-matsuCity, Fukushima)-New Construction
Reclaimed land area behind the Chu-ou Breakwater
Finally, we are attaching photos of Kasai-Rinkai Park and the variety of its habitats asreferences. These photos were taken through the activities of ‘Tokyo Sato-umi Aid,
Nishinagisa-Hatsu’.
Reference 1: Diversity of the ecosystem
Reference 2: The project areaYour serious consideration of this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿
Keisuke Hashizume
President, DEXTE-K(Organizer of Tokyo Sato-umi Aid, Nishinagisa-Hatsu）
Rinkai-cho, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo
Masanori Sugawara
Representative of the National Environmental Volunteer Leader’s Organization
Hinata、Aoi-ku, Shizuoka

（Reference 1-1）
■Biodiversity in the Kasai-Rinkai Park
【Flowers, insects, birds those have been identified in the area canoe slalom stadium plan 】

Red-flanked bluetail

Daurian Redstart

Narcissus Flycatcher

Brown-headed thrush

Varied tit

Japanese Tit

Japanese White-eye

Brown-eared Bulbul

Sphingidae

Old World Swallowtail

Common Bluebottle

Japanese toad（Tadpole）

T. pallida 'Purpurea'

Iris pseudacorus

Japanese Cheesewood

Weigela coraeensis

Japanese wisteria

AbeliaLigustrum obtusifolium

Crinum asiaticum

Japanese maple

Pyracantha angustifolia

Magnolia heptapeta

Prunus lannesiana

（Reference 1-2）

Lilac

Somei-yoshino

Spring star

Annual Blue Eyed Grass

Common henbit

Red Deadnettle

Houttuynia cordata

Creeping woodsorrel

Iris japonica

Pinkladies

Flowering Quince

Bletilla striata Reichb【Aquatic organisms, and birds those have been identified in the adjacent "Nishi-nagisa"】

Little Terr

Chick of Little Tern

Kentish plover

Skylark

Black-necked Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

OspreyPeregrine Falcon

Little grebe

Little egret

Common pochard

Herd of Greater Scaup

（Reference 1-3）

Ayu (Fry)

Nihonotrypaea japonica

Tidepool gunnel (Fry)Japanese seabass

Fishes at the blue tide

Righteye flounder

Needlefish

Japanese black porgy

Backwater

Red stingray

Exoplaemon orientis

Yellowfin Goby

【Aquatic organisms, insects and birds those have been identified in the park】

Black-winged Stilt

Terek Sandpiper

Eastern Buzzard

European Kingfisher

Spotted RedshankWater rail

Common snipe

Numenius phaeopus

Greenshank

Grey heronGreat Egret

Little ringed plover

（Reference 1-4）

Grey-tailed Tattler

Bull-headed shrike

Grey duck

Black Kite

Night heron (Chick)

Grey Wagtail

Great reed warbler

Azure-winged Magpie

Dusky thrush

White-cheeked Starling

Red-billed Starling

Chinese pond heron

Macrophthalmus japonicas

Helice tridens

Mudskipper

Freshwater Prawn

Migratory locust

Tenodera aridifoliaHexacentrus japonicus

Scarlet Skimmer

Japanese Grass Lizard

Japanese Rat Snake

Japanese toadFerocious water bug＆Dragonfly larvae（All photos were taken in the park by DEXTE-K）

（Reference 2-1）
■Planning area of the stadium Canoe Slalom
Red dashed line is the stadium plan range ／ This map is edited on the materials of the Bid
Committee by the Google earth and DEXTE-K.

■Status of the park area canoe slalom stadium construction【Square Shiokaze】

（Reference 2-2）
【Biotope area】【Row of cherry blossom trees】【Square BBQ】

（All photos were taken in the park by DEXTE-K On May 05 in 2012）