Ocean Newsletter
No.50 September 5, 2002
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Can We Revive Tokyo Bay in the Edo Style?
Masataka HISHIDA
Metocean Environment, Inc.Tokyo Bay in the Edo era through pre World War II was endowed with abundant fish and shellfish. Whereas, the effect of giving priority to the growth of the industrial economy and urban function, more than 80% of the tidelands in Tokyo Bay have already been reclaimed and a great deal of the coastline has been covered with concrete embankment. To curb the decline in fish catches, to what extent, can we revive Tokyo Bay in the Edo style "Edo mae" of old? -
To Make Tokyo Bay into a Beautiful and Friendly Sea
Masakatsu NOBUKUNISecretariat, Committee for the Tokyo Bay Rebirth (Japan Coast Guard)
After no noticeable improvement in the water environment of Tokyo Bay, the Committee for the Tokyo Bay Rebirth was established beyond the walls of compartmentalized public administration. The objective of this Committee is to make Tokyo Bay a good environment for human beings and marine organisms, that is, adequate for marine activities and is inhabited by a great number of organisms. At present the direction of future policies is being discussed. And steps towards the recovery of Tokyo Bay, suitable to the Tokyo metropolitan area, have started in this Committee.
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Merits and Demerits of the Urban Planning of the Coastal Areas of Tokyo Bay
Yutaka WATANABEAssociate Professor, Faculty of Mercantile Marine Science, Tokyo University of Mercantile Marine
The sight of windsurfers, which has sent Odaiba into a frenzy in the past, has vanished here in 10 years. This is because the "path of the wind" from the sea was choked off by the cluster of high-rise buildings out of the development of newly emerging city centers in coastal areas. Not only the venue for windsurfing vanished, for several years, the heat island phenomenon has become a serious problem. Why was the importance of the "path of the wind" to urban-development projects not discussed?