4. Urban development for a city that is both attractive and resilient

Next, I will speak about urban development for the creation of an attractive and resilient city that firmly supports Tokyo’s socioeconomic activities and lays the foundation for its safety, the peace of mind of its citizens, and “new growth.”

Revision of the storm and flood damage section of the regional disaster management plan

First, I will talk about disaster mitigation measures to create a resilient city that will protect the lives of Tokyo residents. Last month, heavy rain emergency warnings were issued for Miyake-mura and Mikurajima-mura. The TMG responded to the situation in cooperation with the local municipalities and luckily, no serious damage resulted from these heavy rains. But we must not forget about the massive sediment disaster that occurred in Oshima-machi seven years ago. As witnessed by the succession of powerful typhoons last year, wind and flood damage is becoming more severe and frequent. The TMG has implemented an emergency overhaul of its disaster management projects and established a large-scale storm and flood damage review council in a metropolitan government-wide effort to upgrade disaster measures. And, recently, a preliminary draft for revisions to the flood damage section of the regional disaster management plan was drawn up. The plan reflects, among others, the verification results of the council’s review and the perspective of preventing a compound disaster with the coronavirus. We will further study the regional disaster management plan based on resident feedback and discussion at the Assembly.

Urban development aimed at the evolution of disaster management projects

In regard to new regulating reservoirs for eight rivers, which we have been studying with the aim of evolving our disaster management projects, this month, we have begun working on the basic design of the first regulating reservoir for the upstream Shakujii River that straddles Musashino-shi and Nishi-Tokyo-shi. With a storage capacity of about 300,000 cubic meters, this regulating reservoir will be the biggest in the Tama area when completed. Along with continuing to steadily advance this project, we will select candidate sites and structural styles for reservoirs of other rivers and have them operational at an early stage.

When Typhoon No. 15 (Faxai) struck last year, about 2,000 utility poles mainly in Chiba prefecture but also in Tokyo were damaged, and some areas suffered extended power outages. As these typhoons may become increasingly powerful in the future, it becomes that much more important to remove utility poles. In order to further speed up this effort, we will formulate a new Strategy to Accelerate Removal of Utility Poles early next year. We will expand the areas where utility poles are removed through, among others, more technical and financial support to the municipalities and promotion of technological developments for cost reduction.

New urban development based on the “sustainable recovery” perspective

For realization of the Grand Design for Urban Development, which lays out the vision of Tokyo in the 2040s, last week, a new proposal for revision of the Master Plan for City Planning Areas, which we had been studying, was compiled after hearing experts’ opinions. The master plan takes the perspective of “sustainable recovery,” and incorporates the basic concepts for future urban development that will lead to the development of an inclusive society and realization of diversified ways of living, working, and recreation. We will present it to the city planning council for discussion, and advance concrete measures geared toward urban development that supports “maturity” and “ongoing growth.”

Building a “beautiful Tokyo” that draws people

Revival of the Nihombashi landscape

We will build a beautiful Tokyo by utilizing its historical waterside spaces, such as the outer moat of the Imperial Palace, rivers, and canals. The relocation of the Nihombashi section of the Metropolitan Expressway underground symbolizes such endeavors, and this month, the moving of utility lines buried underground began as the first step. We will steadily advance the project in order to make Nihombashi the face of Tokyo, where the magnificent scenery of the past is revived and people come and go frequently to enjoy water and greenery.

To a people-centered, recreational space for strolling

Furthermore, in regard to the Tokyo Expressway, the so-called the KK Expressway, whose role as a vehicle-only highway is slated to end, recently, a panel of experts issued a recommendation that it be rebuilt into a pedestrian-centered, lush green public space. From a vehicle- to people-centered space where people can enjoy walking—based on this concept, by the end of this fiscal year, we will announce a policy that aims at fully drawing out the value and attraction of the area as a whole.

Creation of an attractive city environment

Aiming for the world’s highest-standard of air quality

A comfortable urban environment is also essential for the creation of a city brimming with appeal. Recently, PM2.5 measurements at all 80 air quality monitoring stations in Tokyo passed the environmental criteria set by the national government. In order to further improve Tokyo’s air quality, we will make it our goal to achieve the World Health Organization’s guideline levels, which are the strictest air quality standards in the world, by fiscal year 2030. We will further accelerate and enhance our measures for, among others, the environmental impact of vehicles and the reduction of VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions, in order to realize the world’s highest standard of air quality and make soaring progress in becoming the world’s city of choice from the environmental aspect as well.

Initiatives for “Zero Emission Tokyo”

About a year has passed since the Zero Emission Tokyo Strategy was formulated and the Declaration of Tokyo’s Climate Crisis Mobilization was made at the end of last year. We will accelerate the implementation of effective measures, and lead the world through our “actions.”

As people are increasingly spending time at home due to the widespread practice of telework and other reasons, it becomes ever more important that energy efficiency measures are taken at home in order to achieve Zero Emission Tokyo. Based on such a perspective, we will continue to implement the Tokyo Zero Emission Points Project in the next fiscal year to encourage people to replace their home appliances with highly energy-efficient products. Through this project, which is for a truly worthy cause and is relatable to the residents because it has the three aspects of contributing to reducing CO2 emissions, revitalizing the economy via investment in energy efficiency, and helping out household finances by cutting electricity bills, we will advance zero emission actions at homes in Tokyo.

Moreover, at this Regular Session of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, we have proposed a partial amendment to the fire prevention ordinance. The amendment is based on a revised ministerial ordinance which the TMG had actively worked for. By relaxing regulations, it will become easier to install fast high-power EV charging stations, which will further boost the use of electric vehicles.

Turning our eyes to the world, China is considering making all new car sales eco-friendly vehicles by 2035, and the UK announced that it will ban sales of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2030, five years earlier than previously planned. The world has been moving very fast over the past several months. So that we can keep pace with, or rather, lead this trend, we must make all vehicles running in Tokyo zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) at an early stage. To achieve this vision, we will work further to fully popularize ZEVs in collaboration with the national government, car manufacturers, and other relevant parties, through the expansion of construction of charging stations and other infrastructure, promotion of the development of ZEVs, and the building of momentum by expanding opportunities to drive ZEVs, among other initiatives.

In the recently held US presidential election, the Democratic Party candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, declared a victory. As a result, we are expecting to see a huge transformation in the environmental policies of not only the US but also the world. By taking this opportunity, I would like to start a global movement for climate change from Tokyo, by making good use of international networks such as the C40 where I currently serve as a vice chair.