Narita Airport - Japan

August 2008

Most travellers to Tokyo would be oblivious to the years of conflict surrounding Narita International Airport. But for the local farmers the battle to save their land from becoming a runway is still going on.
Back in the 1960s Japan was growing rapidly and the farmland at Narita, 60 kilometres north of Tokyo, seemed a good choice for a large international airport. But the planners severely underestimated the determination of the farmers. As the years dragged on students, housewives and anarchists joined the farmers and there have been many battles with the police. Noriko Ishii was a university student drawn into the protests "I felt it was unreasonable for the farmers to be kicked off their land -- because they worked very hard growing rice and vegetables." Today 60% of Japans international flights use Narita but only one runway can be used for large jets all because 8 landowners refuse to sell.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• japan
• travel
• airport
• planning
• permission
• narita
• transport
• rights
• legal
• land
• journeyman
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• current affairs
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[CrazyLassi]

go farmers!!!

[UminoNuko]

こいつらのバックは、サヨクだしな。

どこから運動資金が出ているのやらｗ

[Jaiyeson]

@Cyrus255

Actually a BIGGER issue is the Child porn industry in Japan, the human slave trading that goes on in japan (run by the over 150,000 yakuza at last count) etc etc. 4 soliders raped a girl which is horrible.. but you feel that is a big issue compared to all the children who are raped on camera in japan? Or the huge pedophillia industry there? LOL for goodness sake it is legal to sleep with 13 year olds in japan. Get your priorites straight before you try and bash on the USA.

[Cyrus255]

@jimmyjmv So you are against Airplanes? You believe humans should never fly?

All airports are built on SOMEONE'S land. This is a small issue for Japan.

A BIGGER issue is the US army bases on Okinawa (where US soldiers gang raped a japanese child)

[mixedgrain]

The legal principle of "eminent domain" ("compulsory purchase" - UK, IRL, NZ; "compulsory acquisition" - OZ) is common in pretty much all Western legal systems, allowing governments to take over land for public purposes. Otherwise all those subway, road widening and motorway projects would never get off the ground and we'd all be stuck in traffic - our transport systems would be totally inadequate for modern economies. For the greater good, pay them VERY well but get them out.

[bigbuggie5]

Is this why they are expanding the newer part of Haneda?

[jimmyjmv]

Rice farms were before airports!!!. They have the right to posses what is theirs!!!.

[PyrimidKingJindai]

@DJkentuckykid does this relate to this topic....... 

[CPlasmaGuns]

@pdevadder On the other hand, if you add stress to a Japanese word it does not make it wrong per-say, just like adding pitch or tone to an English word doesn't make it wrong. And if people pronounced foreign words perfectly in the middle of speaking English, it would be hard for people who only know English to catch the sound and memorize it.

[UKfightback]

Bizarre as it might sound, alot of the imagery from the Ghibli film Pompoko is based on this protest

[ThatGypsyBoy]

good for those farmers - bulldozing peoples lives away in the name of progress is inhumane

[Sirmau]

what does your story got to do with this video?