Published papers

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.

This paper discusses the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election in the context of past contests. It shows how this election manifested the trends since the 1990s: an increasing distrust of the existing political parties including those created in that decade and the growing support for independent candidates. Such candidates follow their own line of thinking, free from party ties, and appeal to voters in ways that resonate with public skepticism toward party politics. The analysis highlights both continuity and change in Tokyo elections and underscores broader patterns in Japanese political development.

This study examines a case of urban renewal in Shibuya, one of Tokyo’s most prominent downtown areas, featuring Miyashita Park, a dilapidated 10,000‐square‐meter park that transformed into a modern commercial complex consisting of a multistory commercial building with a roof park and an 18‐story hotel. Shibuya Ward, the park’s administrator, selected private companies—initially Nike Japan and subsequently Mitsui Fudosan—as the redevelopment agency to install and operate park facilities—a public–private partnership that went beyond the conventional park concept by building sophisticated commercial facilities. This redevelopment, which began at the end of the 2000s, was met with fierce opposition. To investigate these dynamics, the article draws on qualitative content analysis of Shibuya Ward Assembly minutes (2008–2020), obtained from the official digital archive, alongside media coverage. By systematically reviewing committee and plenary debates where key policy decisions were made, the study traces how the project was planned, debated, and implemented. The findings show that despite legal ambiguities and strong criticism, the ward advanced the project by framing the park as an unprofitable facility requiring private‐sector expertise, redefining regulatory boundaries, and limiting resident participation to a formal procedure. This process illuminates how public–private‐partnership‐led redevelopment, embedded in Japan’s broader neoliberal urbanism, can proceed through strong political conviction at the local level amid opposition and limited transparency. The study contributes to international debates on urban public space, highlighting how local governments act not only as regulators but also as active promoters of privatization and the erosion of urban commons.

As part of their reconstruction of the city following Allied bombing during World War II, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government infilled medium to small inland waterways (namely, canals and moats constructed during the 17th century) and utilised the resultant terrestrial strips for new purposes. Wartime damage reconstruction was conducted as part of the official city planning of Tokyo. During the 1940s, various waterways in Tokyo were infilled primarily with debris resulting from wartime bombing and, thereby, these landfills presented a model for the disposal of debris from disasters. In Japan, 115 municipalities were designated as war-damaged cities by the government, whose reconstruction was conducted as official city planning. The article examines how common the disposal of wartime debris via the in-filling of inland waterways was. The in-filling of Tokyo’s inland waterways caused the loss of watery spaces that are nowadays regarded as cultural heritage assets with recreational potential. Studies have either criticised the infilling of waterways or else underscored opposition to the activity. How then was it possible for the authorities to decide on infilling and land reclamation as city planning? Was there any social support for this project? Relatedly, should the decision by the metropolitan government to infill inland waterways be regarded as inappropriate? This article considers these questions and evaluates the modification of such areas after WWII.