Statement Condemning the Destruction of the National Stadium
andthe Woods of Jingu Gaien, the Outer Garden of the Meiji Jingu ShrinebyThe Custodians of the National Stadium, TokyoMarch 5, 2015

the National Stadium being demolished and felled trees of Jingu Gaien
January 17, 2015, courtesy of Yasuhiro Hamano

The Custodians of the National Stadium, Tokyo, strongly condemn the Japan SportCouncil (JSC) for embarking on the demolition of Tokyo’s iconic National Stadium,venue of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. As a preliminary measure, JSC workers havefelled Jingu Gaien’s historic trees, which have been cherished by athletes andcitizens alike. The JSC is taking these ill-advised steps to begin the construction ofa colossal new main stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The construction costs are already estimated to double and even triple the initial
estimate. Similarly, management and maintenance costs will spiral out of control.
Thus, the new stadium is destined to become a white elephant after the Games.
Beginning in November 2013, we organized a series of symposia to discuss themultifaceted aspects of the project. Prominent architects, urban planners,
historians, environmentalists, economists and facilities managers haveunanimously pointed to the absurdity of JSC’s plan. Exploring the many problems
in detail, these experts warned that the impractical proposed monster stadium will
prove an environmental, financial, and aesthetic burden not only to Tokyo, but tothe whole nation. We made public every bit of the amassed knowledge andinformation and submitted the findings to the JSC and relevant authorities. We
have also submitted petitions asking them to consider realistic, feasible proposals toretrofit the 1964 stadium. Unfortunately it appears our appeals have never been
considered.
Therefore, we direct our condemnation to both the Japan Sport Council and all
the recipients of our petitions. The members of the group (listed below) have ignored
our appeals both in writing and in person:
Yoshiro Mori, President, Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic
GamesHakubun Shimomura, Minister, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Scienceand Technology
Yoichi Masuzoe, Governor of Tokyo
Ichiro Kono, President, Japan Sport Council
Yoshihiro Onizawa, Board Member, Japan Sport Council, andMasao Yamazaki, Director, New National Stadium Project, Japan Sport Council.
Those listed are in positions to be fully informed of the serious problems inherent
to the new national stadium project. However, they have failed to consider making
any fundamental changes. When the results of their failure become evident, theyshould take legal and ethical responsibility, that is, when the inevitable difficulties
of constructing the new stadium and of managing the unwieldy monster hit home
and its finances become even more costly.
We also believe the Council of Advisors for the National Stadium Future Plan,
who approved the terms of the 2012 International Design Competition for the New
National Stadium, must share the responsibility for a facility that will become anational burden. Among the Council members listed in the Attachment hereto, we
single out Shunichi Tokura and Tadao Ando. Tokura has insisted on the retractable,and perhaps dangerous, roof as a must for commercial music events. Ando chaired
the Design Competition, which awarded first prize to Zaha Hadid, whose designs
fail to consider both technical and financial feasibility.
In making this statement, the Custodians of the National Stadium, Tokyo,
represent 36,000 people who have supported our petitions, the panels of top-levelspeakers of our symposia, public opinion in Japanese and international media
reports and surveys, including, among others, the 62,751 naysayers to any new
national stadium in the YAHOO January 2015 voting.
The Custodians of the National Stadium, Tokyo, grasp that the Tokyo Olympic
national stadium issue is much more than a controversy about a construction
project. We are fighting against an unprecedented threat to Tokyo’s landscape. We
are fighting for Tokyo’s urban living environment and for cultural and historic
assets that all citizens can enjoy now and in the future. The Japan Sport Council’s
steamrolling tactics violate every aspect of the rules of a democracy. In goodconscience and with sound judgment, we shall never stop raising our voices against
the planned stadium and the destruction it will cause.
The Custodians of the National Stadium, Tokyo

Nobuko Shimizu (Board Member, Preserving Landscapes and Living Environment)
On behalf of Co-chairs:
Satoko Ohashi (Architect)
Chizuko Kamimura (Network for Preserving Landscapes & Living Environment)
Miwako Sakai (Designer)
Kimie Tada (Chief Editor, “Confort”)
Sadako Tani (Bunkyo Link for Architectural Preservation)
Keiko Hioki (Community Culture Planning Coordinator)
Sakura Mori (Art Coordinator)
Mayumi Mori (Writer & Representative, Yanesen Kobo)
Akiko Yamamoto (Japan Association for MACHI-NAMI Conservation andRegeneration)
Chiaki Yoshimi (Heritage Houses Trust)
http://2020-tokyo.sakura.ne.jp
info@2020-tokyo.sakura.ne.jp

Attachment
The Council of Advisors for the National Stadium Future Plan
Teiichi Sato, Chairman (Professor, International University of Health and Welfare,
Graduate School; former Ambassador Plenipotentiary, Permanent Delegation ofJapan to UNESCO)
Yuichiro Anzai, Ph D., Vice Chairman (President, the Japan Society for thePromotion of Science)
Tadao Ando, Chair of the Architecture Group (Architect )Junji Ogura, Chair of the Sports Group (Honorary President, Japan Soccer
Federation)
Shunichi Tokura, Chair of the Culture Group (Composer; President, the JapaneseSociety for Rights of authors, Composers and Publishers)
Shintaro Ishihara, Naoki Inoki, and Yoichi Masuzoe (Governors of Tokyo past andpresent)
Toshiaki Endo (Board member, Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic andParalympic Games; Chairman, the Parliamentary Caucus for Sports)
Yohei Kono and Hiroshi Yokokawa (Chairman, past and present, Japanese
Association of Athletics Federations)
Hiroshi Suzuki (former member of the House of Councilors; Councilor, Ministry ofEducation, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)
Hidenori Suzuki (Chairman, Japanese Anti-Doping Agency)
Tsunekazu Takeda (President, Japanese Olympic Committee)
Fujio Cho (President, Japan Amateur Sports Association)
Mitsunori Torihara (President, Japanese Para-Sports Association)
Yoshiro Mori (President, Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic
Games; Chairman, Japan Rugby Football Union; former Prime Minister of Japan)
Hirofumi Ryu (Acting Chairman, Parliamentary Caucus for the Promotion of theTokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games)