Japanese Lawmakers Want An Emergency City For Tokyo
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In a lot of anime with post-apocalyptic properties, the site of a backup or “Neo” Tokyo is nothing new. But could life actually imitate art in this case?
If a few Japanese lawmakers have their way, then the answer is “yes.”
Read more after the break.
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Following the recent Great Eastern Japan Earthquake (Higashi Nihon Daishinsai) disaster, a group of Japanese lawmakers are proposing to build a new city to take the place of Tokyo in case of another major natural disaster.
The proposal already has roughly 100 Japanese politicians from various political parties involved in the plan, dubbed Integrated Resort, Tourism, Business and Backup City (IRTBBC) or National Emergency Management International City (NEMIC). It would set up a new capital site at Osaka International Airport at Itami.
The new city would also house 50,000 residents as well as a workday population of around 200,000 people from the Osaka area. Politicians also want to construct a 650 meter tower within the emergency city and establish some type of back up battery.
“The idea of being able to have a back-up, a spare battery for the functions of the nation, isn’t this a really good idea?” Hajime Ishii of the Democratic Party of Japan said.
So where are politicians hoping to gather funds from?
Mostly from the private industry. So far, those that are supporting this are trying earn 14,000,000 yen or US$180,000 to at least get a proper study going on the project. To say the least, government leaders have had a mixed reaction to the plan so far.
With the recent disasters, it makes perfect sense to plan for the future. But the actual feasibility and cost of such a project quickly grounds this project back into reality. Still, if anyone could pull this off, my money would definitely go to Japan.
