A major Japanese homebuilder by the name of Sekisui House has decided to demolish a nearly completed condominium building in western Tokyo following complaints from locals that the building would have blocked views of Mount Fuji.
As reported by The Asahi Shimbun, the company decided to cancel construction on what would have been a 10-story, 18-unit development on June 3rd. It was originally approved by authorities in January 2023 and was scheduled for completion this July. In a statement, the Sekisui House “decided to prioritize preserving the landscape.” The company asserted that it did not violate any construction regulations, however, it did acknowledge lacking awareness of the building’s potential impact on the view.
Sekisui House has yet to decide what it will do with the land after the demolition is complete.
2 Comments
This is very bizarre, to me, a USian. My first thought was that some wealthy person who didn’t want their personal view obstructed had paid the developer some ridiculous amount of money to stop the construction of the building. But when you look at the pictures in the article it seems the view is mostly about the view from the street, in other words, public space. Attitudes about public space, landscape, housing, etc. are all very different in Japan so I can’t even begin to pretend I understand what’s happening here.
So this is not a NIMBY thing, in other words, I guess?
this is a strange one Donna. Japan does not have NIMBY so much, as its building code is built up around AS-OF RIGHT regulations. There is not much negotiation except for large projects. This one would not qualify for that kind of treatment. Most buildings in Japan are simply built according to what the law allows, and there is no legal stance to complain except when the law is not followed.
The article points out that they changed the design previously in response to local input, though they technically did not have to. And this building is itself not breaking any laws. No one in the area has a legal foot to stand on here.
It seems like the neighborhood association is unhappy with the lost view and they may have made it unpleasant to be part of the community once construction was completed. It is also possible that we wont ever know the actual reason for the decision to halt and tear down the near-finished building. It feels like there is a behind the scenes story not being told. And won't be. What we get is the official explanation, ambiguous, strange, extravagant. Funny.
Maybe they simply decided the bad press was not worth the cost of continuing with construction and wanted to be good neighbors. Maybe they were compensated in a way we will never hear about too. It's a funny world. Or rather it isn't a funny world, and this bit of levity and weirdness is kind of satisfying for our time.
I like your take on the idea of what is public, and I think you are right. Streets are like plazas in Japan, the place where people gather for group activities, from festivals to everyday life. It is an important place. So maybe this time the streetlife wins out over the money. A nice thought...
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