Giant Kannon statues looming over quiet residential estates below have increasingly become a concern for both local governments and local residents. Once a symbol, many are now a negative legacy, fallen into disrepair.
640 total views, 18 views today
The Osaka Prefectural government is considering demolishing the 99-year old official prefectural governor’s residence. The historic home had been occupied by many governors over the past century but there have been growing concerns over its safety in the event of an earthquake.
702 total views
The 94-year-old former Shitaya Elementary School in Ueno will be demolished by Taito ward sometime in 2023. This was one of the ‘revival elementary schools’ built after the devastating 1923 Great Kanto earthquake.
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The Teigeki, or Imperial Theatre, in Marunouchi will temporarily close in 2025 as the building undergoes redevelopment.
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The Kenzo Tange-designed Kagawa Prefectural Gymnasium may be tumbling closer to demolition as earthquake-retrofitting seems to be more challenging and costly than anticipated.
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The 44-year-old Yaesu Book Center near Tokyo Station will close in March 2023 as part of a large-scale redevelopment project.
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Nomura Real Estate Holdings is acquiring an entire condominium building in Takanawa from its apartment owners association. The 42-year-old apartment building will be demolished and replaced with an office building.
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Bad news for this stretch of historic shophouses alongside Kitasato Street in Shirokane. On July 25, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced that a road widening plan will start sometime this year that will see the road widened from its current 11 meters to 20 meters. Doing so will probably require some buildings to be partially or entirely demolished.
1,299 total views, 2 views today
A historic and heritage-listed home in Kagoshima City will be demolished by the end of this year after a six-year attempt to save it.
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A recent attempt by Kyoto City to save its historic machiya townhouses has only resulted in 5 out of 170 properties avoiding demolition. Back in 2016, a survey found that as many as 800 traditional machiya townhouses in Kyoto were being demolished each year. With an estimated 40,000 machiya in the city, they could vanish within the next 50 years, leaving no trace of the city’s merchant past.
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