“It’s like a will …” Three weeks before his death, Mr. Ryuichi Sakamoto asked for an interview with this paper.

2023-04-26 21:00:00

Ryuichi Sakamoto = March 2020

Ryuichi Sakamoto = March 2020

“Could you write an article regarding your opposition to redevelopment?” Musician Ryuichi Sakamoto contacted the Tokyo Shimbun on March 7, three weeks before his death. An interview requesting a review of the redevelopment of the Meiji Jingu Gaien area in Tokyo was released on the web on the 16th, and related reports are still ongoing. What was the message he wanted to convey from his sickbed? Tomorrow, the 28th, will be one month since Mr. Sakamoto passed away. (Tomoyuki Morimoto)

– Reporter Mochizuki: “Please lend me your strength.”

Reporter Isoko Mochizuki was contacted via Twitter. The two were connected on Twitter, but did not know each other. Even so, she thought that it would be possible to get the article published as soon as possible through an acquaintance. “Mr. Sakamoto didn’t have time,” said an official. I chose this paper because it was “one of the few media that pursues the Gaien issue.”

“In the reality that we can’t leave a beautiful image of Japan to our children,embarrassmentlotteryI have a vengeance. I want to do what I can do from my sickbed.”

Continuing to cover Gaien, I was nervous when I read the message Mochizuki forwarded to me. Written by the manager as he is battling cancer. Face-to-face interviews are also impossible. However, he said that he would receive a written interview, saying, “Please lend me your help.”

He flinched even more at the answer. He confessed that he didn’t have the strength left to join the protest movement. She wrote, “When I thought regarding the future, I thought that if I didn’t do anything to protect that beautiful place, I would leave behind a lot of trouble.” “Don’t regret it.”

A colleague was surprised, saying, “It’s like a will.”

For Sakamoto, who was born in Tokyo, the Gaien area was a place where memories were nurtured. Nearby is the Sogetsu Kaikan, where my parents took me to listen to contemporary music, and when I was in Shinjuku High School, I participated in demonstrations on Aoyama Street. After turning pro, he went to Victor Aoyama Studio.

Mr. Sakamoto used to visit Gaien in his spare time from fighting cancer. There were times when I deliberately took a detour around the outer garden, looking at the trees. In an interview following his death, officials said.

At the end of the written interview, he said:

“I think it is important for each of us to have a vision of what kind of place we want our community to be. What kind of Tokyo do you want to live in?”

 Redevelopment of the Meiji Jingu Gaien DistrictIn addition to replacing and rebuilding the sites of Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium and Jingu Stadium, 190-meter and 185-meter skyscrapers will be built for commercial development. It turns out that a lot of trees will be felled in the process. Although the operator has reviewed, it is expected that 743 trees will be felled. Construction began in March and will be completed in 2036. The entire area has been designated as a scenic area, and the scenery has been protected for nearly 100 years since the Jingu was founded, but this is a turning point.

Ryuichi Sakamoto stares at the waves on the coast of the Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster area on March 11, 2014 in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture.

Ryuichi Sakamoto stares at the waves on the coast of the Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster area on March 11, 2014 in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture.

◆Fukushima, the nuclear power plant that I was concerned regarding…The reason why I didn’t raise my voice

In fact, Mr. Sakamoto had another problem in addition to the Gaien problem, which he had been worrying regarding until the end. Soil collected from decontamination work in Fukushima Prefecture was brought to Shinjuku Gyoen. However, he deliberately avoided speaking out loud. It is said that she told those around her why she said, “I fear that raising my voice will hurt the people of Fukushima.”

In an interview, he said, “I was surprised.”

“I don’t think Fukushima should be the only one to bear the burden of the nuclear accident. I think everyone should support Fukushima and try to contain it as much as possible instead of spreading the contamination.”



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