Residents' anger over loss of Mount Fuji's view culminates in wrecking ball solution

The Kanto area boasts hundreds of place names like Fujimi-cho, Fujimi-dai, Fujimi-ga-oka and so on, that all begin with Fujimi or Fuji View. Quite understandable since Fuji is, as the Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan authoritatively advises, that mountain "most loved by the Japanese."

However elusive that view might be -- due to clouds or air pollution -- some believe it's still worth fighting for. Following up on newspaper accounts, Flash (July 2) reports that Sekisui House, a major builder, announced it would demolish an already completed condominium in Kunitachi, a suburb in west Tokyo. The 10-story Grand Maison Kunitachi will be torn down in order to mollify residents outraged over having their view of the mountain blocked.

The ill-fated building, located on a street named, yep, Fujimi-dori, contained 18 units priced between ¥70 million to ¥80 million, which were expected to be ready for occupancy from July. On June 3, however, Sekisui House announced its decision to halt sales and demolish the building. According to reports, the company will entail losses of around ¥1 billion on the aborted project.

Residents' opposition to construction of new high-rise buildings are common in Japan, but the Kunitachi case this time, Flash remarks, is the mother of all exceptions.

"Right from the get-go, when the builder announced its plans for the project, some people complained that it would block their view of Mount Fuji," a local resident is quoted as saying. "What's more, it would block out some people's sunshine, and the residents organized opposition groups. Still, I didn't see what you could describe as overwhelming or strong-arm opposition."

The reporter visited the city office and inquired to the person in the urban planning section involved in the project.

"Initially we'd requested that the builder reduce the height from 31 meters to 26, but after construction began nobody complained to us," the official said. "So things proceeded right up to the final inspection, and we were as surprised as anyone about Sekisui's decision."

Asking the builder for more details, Flash was told that as completion neared, it became apparent that the building did indeed "have an effect" on the view of Mount Fuji and from that point the issue was "widely discussed and debated by the various departments at company headquarters. After which the decision was made to halt the project."

Or to put the above in a nutshell, Flash quips, "First we tried our hand at building it, and it made seeing Mount Fuji more difficult, so we threw in the towel."

But something seems to be missing from the equation and some people are asking what really happened in Kunitachi?

A man in his 60s admitted to the magazine, "A number of meetings were convened for the locals to discuss the project, and quite a few voiced their opposition. Among them seems to be a 'scary person' who complained heatedly. Rumor was that he might be a yakuza."

"When construction on the building began I would see an older man visited the site almost daily to complain," said a local man in his 40s. " I think they had a hard time dealing with him because he didn't represent some organization."

"Many people around here are 3rd or 4th generation residents," the operator of a local real estate agency told the magazine. "They are admired by people and have a strong voice in what goes on. They live in single-unit houses and homes higher than two stories are a rarity. That's the nature of this neighborhood."

So in other words, it was the persistent and vociferous complaints by a small number of individuals that caused Sekisui House to cave in.

"The company wanted to avoid a dispute," says a source in the real estate industry. "The company had to write off losses of ¥5.5 billion in a property swindle back in 2017, and since then it has been bending over backwards to ensure compliance. It has also had to contend with residents' opposition over a tower mansion project in Oyama, Itabashi Ward, and another in Kudan, on property located near the imperial palace moat that was formerly occupied by a hospital.

"It has a lot riding on the latter project, which will be a high-priced luxury residence, so the company decided to cut its losses and write off the building in Kunitachi."

© Japan Today