Japan Building back up for Tokyo?

Pervy Fatman · 2011-11-03T02:24:31-01:00

Spoiler:It sounds like a story ripped from the parody-filled pages of The Onion, but some Japanese lawmakers really do want to build a "backup city" that would take over the functions of Tokyo, including tourism, in the event of a catastrophe. The idea was floated last month at a Tokyo luncheon, with a follow-up in The Telegraph last week. "The idea of being able to have a backup, a spare battery for the functions of the nation ... isn't this really a good idea?" Hajime Ishii, a parliamentarian representing the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, was quoted as saying. Support for creating an urban Plan B has grown in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan in March and led to the Fukushima nuclear crisis. "Preparations are already under way at various levels at various levels to find ways of mitigating possible far-reaching consequences of a much-expected earthquake striking Tokyo," the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan said. The lawmakers' plan calls for building an urban center known as IRTBBC (Integrated Resort, Tourism, Business and Backup City) or NEMIC (National Emergency Management International City) on the 1,236-acre site currently occupied by Osaka International Airport at Itami. Today, Itami is used only as a secondary hub for domestic flights, operating in the shadow of the newer Kansai airport. The new city would take on all the functions of the capital city in the event of an emergency. It would boast office complexes, resort facilities, parks and even casinos. The city's centerpiece would be a tower that would rank among the tallest in the world, coming in at just over 650 meters (2,133 feet). It'd be built to house 50,000 residents and accommodate a workday population of around 200,000 people from the Osaka region, The Telegraph reported. If the plan goes forward, it would rank among history's most ambitious backup plans. The backers haven't calculated the cost of building the city. For now, Ishii and his fellow lawmakers — including the Democratic Party's Banri Kaieda, Shizuka Kamei of the People's New Party and Ichiro Aisawa of the Liberal Democrats — are merely seeking 14 million yen ($180,000) for a feasibility study. So far, the reaction has been mixed: Osaka's governor, Toru Hashimoto, has been quoted as saying that his region is willing to accept the capital backup role, while Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara has voiced opposition. And he may not be the only one: It just seems to me that most emergency-management officials, if not most politicians, would prefer to fortify what they have rather than building a whole new complex someplace else. Of course, I could be wrong about that. so discuss...what does everybody think about this?

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homsar955

14 years ago

Well I see it as a good and a bad idea.
Good: The people who lost their homes to the tsunami will have a new city to migrate to (if they want to) and its always good to have a back up plan.
Bad: What if that city gets destroyed instead of or with Tokyo? Then what?

Sneakyone

14 years ago

I immediately thought of Evangelion.

@e-L33T

14 years ago

I really dont think this thing would worth it.

Bloody-DIMISIS

14 years ago

oh god I got "!!!EVANGELION!!!" screaming in my head... let me guess to solve the no space left problem they are making it under Tokyo and its name will be Tokyo 2 lol

Hentanize rebaS

14 years ago

Sounds too cool to be true. Either they were smoking crack or they watched too much Eva.

Loner the People's Senpai

13 years ago

After this they'll build a third Tokyo and call it Tokyo-3 all while defending it from the Angels lol.

Joking aside, isn't land kind of hard to come by in Japan, wouldn't they be destroying important farmlands by doing this.

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